Thiruvananthapuram: At the end of a politically tough week for Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan in which he lost his cool yet again before journalists, a couple of police officers may be the ones who will face the music.
On Friday, when the chief minister arrived for the Communist Party of India — Marxist (CPM) state secretariat meeting in Kochi, media persons gathered around, asking him some questions related to the resignation of transport minister Thomas Chandy two days earlier.
In between, a television journalist’s microphone reportedly brushed the chief minister’s shoulder, and a visibly angry Vijayan turned around and said, “Keep away”.
He was then seen talking angrily to a police officer, before entering the conference hall where the party meeting was held.
Following the incident, senior police officers in Kochi rushed to the scene, and reports indicate that action is likely against at least a couple of police officials who were part of the chief minister’s security at the venue.
Police had earlier been informed that there was a likelihood of protesters getting close to the chief minister at such venues in the backdrop of the simmering anger against Thomas Chandy.
A few months earlier, in a near-similar situation in a hotel in Thiruvananthapuram, Vijayan had fumed at journalists, asking them to get out of a room where he had arrived for discussions.
In recent months, Vijayan has been cross with media persons, and his fury seems to have grown after weeks of media coverage of Thomas Chandy hanging on to his job despite a wave of land encroachment allegations against him and the judiciary passing adverse remarks.
Vijayan himself was accused of protecting Chandy and handling him with soft gloves, in contrast to the quick exit that Vijayan’s party colleague E.P. Jayarajan had to endure when he was accused of nepotism.
