Woman Cong leader attacked; Chandy blames CPI-M

A woman Congress leader was allegedly attacked by two men and her hair forcefully cut in Thiruvananthapuram district for contesting against a CPI-M nominee in the recent civic elections, an incident termed as "barbaric" by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy today.
Blaming CPI-M for the attack, Chandy alleged it was "a clear evidence" of the Marxist party's "growing intolerance" towards its political opponents.
50-year-old Sathikumari, who unsuccessfully contested in Perumkadavila block panchayat in last month's local body elections, was allegedly assaulted by the two men in Amaravila, about 20 km from Thiruvananthapuram, on the evening of November 11, police said.
In her complaint to police, Sathikumari, a former member of the Thiruvananthapuram District Congress Committee, said she was waylaid by the duo and attacked. The two men also allegedly cut some of her hair, police said quoting her, adding investigations were on.

Reacting to the incident, Chandy said strong action would be taken against the culprits.
"Tolerance is the strength of democracy. Incidents of intolerance by BJP is the biggest point of discussion in India. Here, the Marxist party (CPI-M) has attacked a woman leader of Congress party for fighting local body elections. I am pained to see reports about such a barbaric act. It is a humiliation for Kerala," Chandy told PTI.

"The attack on Sathikumari is the latest example of CPI(M)'s intolerance towards their political opponents. They even would not spare women. The CPI(M) is known for physically suppressing their opponents in areas dominated by their workers," Chandy said.

The woman was admitted to a government hospital in Parasala after the attack.
Meanwhile, denying that its cadres were involved in the incident, CPI-M said a proper investigation should be held to identify the real culprits.
"Our people are not involved in the incident. Let a proper probe be held to identified the real culprits," Thiruvanathapuram district CPI-M Secretary Kadakampally Surendran said.