CPI(M), Congress accuse each other of creating tension over Kerala boat accident

As search and rescue efforts are on to find the fishermen missing for more than 24 hours after their boat capsized near Muthalapozhi here a day ago, a political row has kicked off over the incident with the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala and the opposition Congress on Tuesday accusing each other of trying to create tension in that area.

Of the four fishermen on the boat, the body of one of them was found hours after the accident and another was recovered close to Tuesday afternoon, police said.

Efforts are on to find the remaining two fishermen, it said.

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Amidst the search operations, a political row has kicked off following the protests by some persons against Kerala Ministers V Sivankutty, G R Anil and Antony Raju when they visited the coastal area on Monday.

Referring to the protests against him and the other ministers, Raju claimed that the 3-5 persons who protested were Congress workers who were not even from Muthalapozhi. Raju said that had the ministers not intervened, the actions of the Congress workers would have led to a conflict with the locals.

"So it was a political move under the Congress leadership to create tension and conflict in the coastal area," he alleged while speaking to the media here.

Countering the allegation, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly V D Satheesan contended that the ministers, instead of comforting the fishermen and families of the victims, used "provocative" words against them which led to the incident.

Satheesan also condemned the case lodged against Latin Catholic Church priest, Father Eugene Pereira, under Section 153 (wantonly giving provocation, with intent to cause riot) of the IPC, saying that the Left government "was lodging cases against everyone to intimidate them."

Speaking to reporters here, he said the case against the priest should be withdrawn immediately as Pereira had only objected to the allegedly provocative words used by the ministers.

Pereira, speaking along similar lines as the LoP, told the media that the case against him was a planned move to "silence his voice" of protest.

"The police were pressurised to lodge the case against me. I did not commit any crime. The ministers were leaving after using provocative words against the locals and I responded in a similar fashion," he said.

He also said that he has always cooperated with the good work done by the government and the ministers, but the administration has not been heeding the requests and demands of the fishermen to take steps to prevent the accidents in the Muthalapozhi area.

"This is the 10th such incident there this year," he said.

Pereira also said that he was not intimidated by the case against him as he has been named as a co-accused or accused in 140 other FIRs lodged in connection with the protests against the Vizhinjam sea-port construction.

"This one makes it 141," he said.

The priest said that further course of action, including holding of any protests, would be decided after discussions with the fishermen of the area.

An officer of Anchuthengu police station said police on their own lodged the FIR against Pereira as he "allegedly" asked the people to restrain the ministers in their presence.

"A case under section 153 of the IPC has been registered against him," the officer said.

Meanwhile, search and rescue efforts are on to find the remaining two missing fishermen -- Robin and Biju.

The body of Kunjumon, who was also in the capsized boat, was recovered on Monday.

"Navy scuba divers, Coast guard, the Marine Enforcement Agency of the Fisheries Department and the police are actively looking for the missing fishermen," the officer of Anchuthengu police station said.

One fisherman lost his life and three others went missing after their boat capsized in the waters of Muthalappozhi, where a river and a lake meet the Arabian Sea.

When ministers Sivankutty, Anil and Raju reached the village under Anjuthengu police station limit after the incident, the locals alleged a delay in launching an operation to save the missing fishermen.

They also alleged a lack of sincere efforts from the side of the administration to ensure the safety of fishermen venturing into the seas at Muthalapozhi where boat accidents have claimed several lives in the past due to the construction of "an unscientific breakwater" system.

Later, in a statement, Sivankutty alleged that Pereira tried to create tension in the area by asking the people assembled there to block the way of the ministers.

He said a major conflict was avoided as the locals exercised restraint and did not heed Pereira's call to stop the ministers. The Coast Guard, local police, and the marine enforcement agency had started the search early Monday morning with the help of Dornier aircraft and helicopters, the minister had said.

Rejecting the allegations against him, Pereira, the vicar general of the Latin Archdiocese and a leader of the protest against the Vizhinjam port project, had on Monday claimed that the people raised the voice of protest against the ministers when they shouted at the protesters with the support of their party workers.