Four Congress workers, including staff at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's MP office at Wayanad in Kerala, were arrested by the police on charges of damaging the picture of Mahatma Gandhi at the MP's office at Kalpetta town in Wayanad.
Congress state leaders alleged that false charges were being levelled against party workers to help activists of ruling CPM's student outfit Students' Federation of India (SFI) "who carried out the attack" at the MP's office on June 24. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was trying to please Prime Minister Narendra Modi by arresting Rahul Gandhi's staff, Congress alleged.
Those arrested were Rahul Gandhi's personal assistant Rateesh Kumar, office staff Rahul S R and local Congress workers Naushad V and K A Mujeeb. Several SFI leaders and activists were earlier held by the police in connection with the attack.
A march was taken out by SFI to the MP office alleging that Rahul was not taking steps to address concerns of local people over the Supreme Court decision to declare one kilometre around forests as SEZ has ended in an attack on the office. The incident was strongly flayed by CPM leadership also.
Soon after the incident, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the state Assembly that the preliminary finding of the police was that Mahatma Gandhi's picture was damaged after the police removed SFI workers from the spot and only Congress workers were present thereafter.
Kerala PCC working president and Kalpetta MLA T Siddique said, "Since soon after the incident, the Chief Minister himself said that Gandhiji's picture was damaged by the Congress, it shows that the police were only trying to fabricate evidence to support that statement. Congress would be strongly opposing the move."