The Opposition parties in Kerala have launched a no-holds-barred attack on chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan over two arrests that have come to haunt the CPM.

After briefly staying away from mass protests because of the spike in Covid-19 cases in the state, both the Congress and the BJP hit the streets in big numbers on Friday seeking the resignation of Vijayan who had all along been the bulwark they found difficult to upstage.

The arrest of his former secretary M. Sivasankar and that of Bineesh Kodiyeri, son of the state CPM secretary, came just a day apart and fully loaded with ammunition for the Opposition.

Sivasankar was held in a case related to gold smuggling in Kerala, while Bineesh landed in trouble over a drug case in Bangalore.

Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala on Friday said Vijayan was trying to escape by fixing all the blame on Sivasankar. “The chief minister is saying that neither he nor his government has any responsibility in what Sivasankar did in his personal capacity. Sivasankar’s help (in gold smuggling) is help from the chief minister’s office,” he said.

After sporadic protests on Thursday, an organised agitation was held across the state on Friday when Congress and BJP workers clashed with police in Thiruvananthapuram.

The ruling Left Democratic Front, however, stood steadfast behind the chief minister.

State CPI secretary Kanam Rajendran said it was wrong to target the chief minister for alleged crimes committed by Sivasankar and Bineesh.

Kerala governance 

Kerala was declared the best governed large state in a public affairs index released here on Friday, while Uttar Pradesh featured at the bottom. While Goa emerged the best governed among small states, Chandigarh was adjudged the best-governed Union Territory by Public Affairs Centre, an NGO headed by former Isro chairman K. Kasturirangan.