Insta
Kerala Police Recreates 'George Floyd' Scene On Protester; Social Media Calls Out Hypocrisy Of Communist Govt
Swarajya Staff
Sep 15, 2020, 04:45 PM | Updated 04:45 PM IST
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Social media has been abuzz with activity ever since picture of a police official squatting over a young Congress worker pinning him to the ground to allow Kerala Higher Education Minister K T Jaleel's convoy to pass through, surfaced.
It was Sunday evening, when the picture became public. The social media users immediately equated it with the unfortunate incident of George Floyd, a black American, who was killed in Minneapolis, United States (US), when Derek Chauvin, a white policeman, knelt on 46-year-old's neck for several minutes leading to his death eventually.
Floyd was handcuffed as he was pinned face down, calling for his mother and repeatedly saying "please" and "I can't breathe".
State Congress vice-president and two time former legislator P C Vishnunadh said it was indeed shameful for the Kerala Police, for what happened.
"Just see the cruelty that was shown to one of our young activist Antony, who turned into victim of police high-handedness, as literally a replay of what happened in the US was played out," said Vishnunadh .
Several social media users drew a comparison between the two incidents and condemned Kerala Police's brutal crackdown on protests.
Kerala police barbarism cannot be tolerated... pic.twitter.com/pBhmS8fv6x
— vazhoor harikrishnan (@hari84182) September 15, 2020
One Twitter user wrote, "No this is not UP Police. But Kerala Police. PR Vijayan is misusing the state police to silence the Congress workers. We shall not."
No this is not UP Police.
— ð³ð ðªð ð ð®ðððð (ð¹) (@gokulchan) September 15, 2020
But Kerala Police.
PR Vijayan is misusing the state police to silence the Congress workers.
We shall not. pic.twitter.com/j4yEMqBupz
One user called out the 'hypocrisy' by Communist Kerala government and wrote, "Before it happened in USA CPIM was http://crying.Today it happened in Kerala and is there a banana in your mouth @SitaramYechury This is how CPIM and Kerala Police treat the protests...Pitty on you"
Before it happened in USA CPIM was https://t.co/ZolrElVZ2c it happened in Kerala and is there a banana in your mouth @SitaramYechury .This is how CPIM and Kerala Police treat the protests...Pitty on you pic.twitter.com/ociuBjuYVo
— Sarath Kumar (@SarathK88455634) September 14, 2020
Antony and Youth Congress workers took to the streets on Sunday evening and protested against Jaleel demanding his resignation after he was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate.
While some protesters were chased away by the police manning the roads, Antony fell down and when he was trying to get up, a police official saw to it, he was pinned to the ground, till Jaleel's convoy passed.
After that Antony's colleagues came rushing seeing the incident and he was rescued.
Young Congress legislator V T Balram also took to his Facebook page and posted the picture with the caption, 'Citizen and Pinarayi government'.
(With inputs from IANS)
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.