SFI vandalises Rahul's office in Kerala, CM condemns act

KOZHIKODE: Ten days after two Youth Congress workers staged an unprecedented in-flight protest against Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, a group of Students Federation of India (SFI) activists barged into Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi’s office in Kalpetta, vandalised it and beat up the office staff.

The student wing of CPM attacked the office demanding that Rahul break his silence on the issue of buffer zones around forests. Just as the SFI protest march had begun, and well before the attack, Rahul countered his alleged silence on the issue by releasing a letter he sent to the PM dated June 23 on the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) issue. He said the letter was aimed at drawing the PM’s attention to the plight of local communities of Wayanad whose livelihoods will be adversely affected by SC order.

The office attack drew widespread condemnation from Congress and UDF leaders, who staged protests across the state. The CM, who condemned the incident, warned of strict action against protesters. Police have taken 15 SFI activists into custody for the incident.