“Desperate” UDF attacking ministers: CPI’s Sandosh Kumar; Cong Kerala chief says “Pure drama” on alleged attack on Veena George

New Delhi/Kannur (Kerala) [India], February 26 (ANI): A day after the alleged attack on Kerala Health Minister Veena George in Kannur in which she was hospitalised with reported injuries, the ruling Communist Party of India’s (CPI's) MP P Sandosh Kumar on Thursday said that a “desperate” Congress-led opposition, which has been out of power for the last 10 years in the State, was resorting to attacking even ministers.

“The attack against Minister Veena George is really shocking, and she is hospitalized. Kerala is a place known for its political protests and dissenting voices—it's all welcome. But at the same time, there must be a limit to everything. And this was really not acceptable to any one of us. And the whole Kerala is against UDF now," the Rajya Sabha MP said.

Further, Kumar said that the Congress-led opposition is “trying to divide the society to recapture their power with the help of certain most dangerous communal elements like Jamaat-e-Islami and SDPI.”

Kerala is headed into Assembly elections later this year, and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), the main opposition, did considerably well in the December 2025 elections for the local bodies- spread across corporations, municipalities, and panchayats.

Tensions have been heightened between the Congress and the CPI (M) after George was allegedly attacked at the Kannur Railway station around 3.20 pm yesterday, where she had arrived to return to the State capital Thiruvanthapuram, during a ‘black-flag’ protest by the Congress’ Kerala Students Union (KSU,) who demanded her resignation.  

George who was accompanying Kerala Speaker A M Shamseer on the Vande Bharat train did not proceed on her journey and was first admitted to Kannur district hospital. She was later shifted to the Kannur Government Medical College Hospital in Pariyarm after reportedly complaining of neck and hand pain.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President Sunny Joseph has dismissed the allegation of George being attacked as “drama.”

"... There is no evidence at all. The videos and the visuals clearly show that there was no attack at all. Nobody has touched her body with any weapon or anything. No injury sustained. This is all a false and fabricated case... It's only a drama," Joseph told ANI.

In response to the alleged attack on Veena George, workers of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) workers in Adoor vandalised the Youth Congress flagpoles and tore down posters related to the Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan-led "Puthu Yuga Yathra" protest march.

Yesterday, CPM State Secretary  MV Govindan said that the attack on George at the Kannur railway station was “an organised, pre-planned attack, carried out with the full knowledge of the Congress leadership.” “Their intention was nothing short of harming, even killing the Minister” Govindan said.

The CPM leader said that the party will hold statewide protests.

“The people of Kerala will stand united against this. We are calling for statewide protests. The Congress is acting purely based on the Kanakagolu theory  everything they do is calculated and intentional. The protest and the violence were conducted with complete awareness and planning by the Congress leadership,” Govindan told ANI.

CPI(M) MP John Brittas had on Wednesday condemned the assault on Kerala Minister Veena George by KSU workers, alleging it was carried out at the behest of the Congress leadership. He termed it an attempt by the UDF to malign Kerala's health sector and urged Congress to prevent such incidents against public representatives.

Meanwhile, Kannur Town Police have booked five leaders of the Congress's Kerala Students' Union (KSU) on charges of attempt to murder in connection with the alleged assault on Minister for Health, Women and Child Development Veena George. Those booked include KSU Kannur district president MC Athul, who led the protest at the railway station, KSU district treasurer Akshay Mattul, and KSU leaders CH Mubaz, Bithul Balan and Mohammed Yassin.

The Student Federation of India (SFI), the student wing of CPM, took out a protest march to the District Congress Committee (DCC) office at Talap in Kannur and raised slogans against KSU district president Athul. SFI workers allegedly threw stones at the DCC office, and when they attempted to enter the premises, police intervened.

The Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the youth wing of CPM, also raised slogans warning that those responsible for attacking the minister would not be spared.

Responding to the alleged attack in Kannur, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan yesterday said that those giving leadership to these (protests) were attempting to turn Kerala into a conflict zone. "I have only one appeal: what they want should not happen. Our state should live peacefully," he said. (ANI)