Even as the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] suspended former Thiruvambady MLA and party district secretariat member George M. Thomas from the party for a year for alleged financial irregularities and violation of party discipline, protest is gaining momentum in the district under the leadership of the Congress seeking a high-level probe into allegations against him.
The Congress leadership said that the senior CPI(M) leader was suspended for his alleged attempt to influence the police and save an influential expatriate from a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) case registered in 2009.
The Thiruvambady CPI(M) area committee had reportedly taken up all allegations against him with the State committee seeking disciplinary action. There were reportedly statements of the POCSO case victim and her family members, who were CPI(M) sympathisers, in a report submitted by a two-member panel to the State committee.
Congress leaders from Mukkom and Thiruvambady, who accused Mr. Thomas of illegally amassing wealth during his tenure as MLA by allegedly joining hands with quarry operators, called for a Vigilance investigation into the charges against him.
Ashraf Kolakkadan, a Congress leader from Thiruvambady, said police station marches and other modes of protests would be organised if the State government failed to order a high-level probe into the charges.
Youth Congress and Welfare Party of India workers staged demonstrations in rural Kozhikode raising the demand on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the CPI(M) leadership continued to maintain silence on the allegations by Opposition parties and clarified that it did not want to reveal anything related to the internal investigation report that led to the disciplinary action. CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan too had said that there was no reason to update the media about party affairs when asked about the issue.
