The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] delivered a strong accusation on Friday, October 17, 2025, claiming the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) is intentionally inciting street violence. The CPI(M) alleges this strategy is a deliberate attempt to divert public focus from the UDF’s own mounting internal disagreements and declining political fortunes during a pivotal election year.
CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan stated during a press conference that the recent reorganization of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) has severely exacerbated existing factional divisions within the party.
Congress Internal Turmoil
Govindan elaborated, suggesting that the All India Congress Committee’s (AICC) decision to form “jumbo committees”—designed to accommodate countless individuals vying for organizational positions—has inadvertently sparked further factional feuding and deep-seated resentment against the national leadership. He specifically pointed out that the Youth Congress’s reorganization has left the organization profoundly split along factional lines.
“The public statements from various leaders clearly indicate the deep, seemingly irreconcilable infighting plaguing the Congress and its allied groups,” Govindan asserted.
He further claimed that the embattled Congress leadership is resorting to street violence as a temporary escape from its ongoing political struggles.
Govindan accused Congress Member of Parliament Shafi Parambil of orchestrating recent violence against CPI(M) activists, law enforcement officials, and Students Federation of India (SFI) workers in Perambra, Kozhikode. He alleged that Congress workers attacked the local panchayat president for bringing to light Mr. Shafi’s purported attempt to take credit for the successful completion of Life Mission Housing projects—the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government’s flagship initiative for eradicating homelessness and poverty in the district.
Additionally, Mr. Govindan criticized the Congress for allegedly assaulting SFI activists after the latter’s decisive victories in college and university elections across the Kozhikode district.
“Congress workers, under the leadership of the MP, attacked the police with sticks and country bombs. Despite such blatant provocation, the police exercised remarkable restraint,” he noted.
The Hijab Controversy
Addressing another contentious issue, Mr. Govindan accused Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan and the Congress’s “tacit allies”—Jamaat-e-Islami Kerala and its political wing, the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI)—of intentionally escalating the headscarf (hijab) dispute. This controversy emerged from St. Rita’s School, a privately managed institution in Palluruthy, Ernakulam.
“General Education Minister V. Sivankutty rightly affirmed the Muslim girl students’ constitutional right to express their religious freedom. Mr. Sivankutty also cautioned school authorities, the PTA, elected representatives, and parents against allowing this controversy to devolve into broader social friction,” Govindan concluded.