Catholic Bava Said That There Should Be No Retaliation Against Vizhinjam Protesters: Baselios Marthomma Mathews Tertiyan Katholika Bava said that there should be no retaliation against Vizhinjam protesters. If there is a law and order problem, it is natural for the police to intervene. He said that the government will be asked to intervene to solve the problem.
The position of the church is to allow the implementation of the Vizhinjam project. The Orthodox church president said that the project should be implemented by taking the people of the coast into faith.
At the same time, the police arrested more than 50 priests in the clash between those who opposed and supported the construction of Vizhinjam port on Saturday. Shelton, a native of Vizhinjam, was arrested. Vizhinjam police arrested him.
Archbishop Thomas J. Neto is the first defendant in the case. Also, a case has been registered against 1000 known persons. It is said in the FIR that there was a conspiracy between the Archbishop and the priests. There is also a case of destruction of public property worth more than two lakh rupees. In addition to the complaint received, the police also filed a case voluntarily.
The priests numbered 1 to 15 in the accused list were not directly present at the conflict site. According to the police FIR, they conspired together and after that organized more than a thousand people who were known to have reached Mullur and created conflict by bypassing the instructions of the government and the High Court. Sections like an attempt to murder, conspiracy, unlawful assembly, incitement, and destruction of public property have been included in the FIR.
Meanwhile, minister Antony Raju accused Vizhinjam of deliberately trying to create riots in the name of the strike. The government and the police exercised self-restraint. The minister said that no one should consider this as a weakness of the police.The government duly intervened. A discussion was held including the Chief Minister. Everything that can be done by the government has been done. Still not ready to withdraw from the struggle. He said that they should be prepared to behave realistically.
The people will not accept the attempt to turn the coastal area into a conflict zone. No one should try to disturb the peaceful atmosphere in the country by creating conflict. Antony Raju said that no one should be a victim of this.
But Union Minister V. Muralidharan accused the state government of failing to maintain law and order in the Vizhinjam strike. The government should have been more careful. He said that Vizhinjam is an essential project.
The government should have taken the necessary steps to avoid the people from turning into slums and fighting. But the police failed. It is the responsibility of the state government to make the people understand the need for the project. Maintaining law and order is the responsibility of the government. Muralidharan also said that if the central army is needed, the government should ask for it.
