Midnight swoop in rooms of Congress women leaders’ hotel rooms turns tense

Palakkad: Senior Congress leaders on Wednesday were up in arms over the midnight swoop by Kerala Police in the hotel rooms of senior women Congress leaders staying in Palakkad, who came for election campaigning for the November 20 by-election.

The swoop that began close to midnight came to a close around 3 a.m.

The rooms were searched after reports surfaced that large amounts of money had arrived at the hotel.

The by-election is taking place at the Palakkad Assembly constituency after sitting Congress legislator Shafi Parambil resigned after being elected to the Lok Sabha.

The Congress has fielded Youth Congress president Rahul Mamkootathil.

Congress MP’s Parambil and V. K. Sreekandan said this is a planned move by the CPI-M and BJP combine to create a scene.

Senior Congress leader Bindu Krishnan and her colleague and former legislator Shanimol Usman’s rooms were searched, while a large number of the party workers of the Congress, CPI-M and the BJP were engaged in a free for all when the search was going on.

“We have no problems at all, but we want to get a report on the outcome of the midnight swoop. We want to get a copy of the police report,” said both the senior women leaders.

“We will take legal steps against this act done by the police,” said Usman.

Local legislator from the Palakkad district and State Minister of Local Self Government M. B. Rajesh said that to the best of his knowledge, it’s a normal procedure done by police and it has been done in all the rooms of political leaders.

“Even my vehicle was inspected during my election campaign time. Fail to understand why the big noise. I am told that the police team first inspected former CPI-M legislator T. V. Rajesh’s room and then the room of senior journalist M. V. Nikesh Kumar. The police have said they will give the report to the Election Commission. It was women police officials who did the job. The EC officials were also present,” said Rajesh.

“Things are being twisted for political gains. At the moment now Congress is on the back foot and they are trying to claw back. It was two of their MP’s led the show,” added Rajesh.

When the raids were on angry CPI-M, BJP workers were seen shouting to the police that the Congress candidate Rahul was hiding in the hotel and that he had to be found out.

But these claims were dismissed by journalists when they called up Rahul in the middle of the night and said that he was in Kozhikode, also that he has no money with him kept anywhere.

State Congress president K. Sudhakaran said that this is an organised conspiracy hatched and the money has come to CM Vijayan and BJP.

Meanwhile, the hotel owner has filed a complaint against the police for barging into the hotel and as a result of this, they have suffered losses to their property.

The Congress party is organising a protest march to the office of the Palakkad SP against the unnecessary police action to create a scene.

IANS