Congress, IUML denounce Kerala MLA P.V. Anvar’s arrest as ‘political vendetta’ by LDF-OxBig News Network

P.V. Anvar (file)
| Photo Credit: K K Mustafah

The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala has denounced the “midnight arrest and remand” of Independent legislator P.V. Anvar from his house at Nilambur in Malappuram district late on Sunday as the latest manifestation of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) government’s “anti-democratic penchant” for using the police and bending the law to silence opponents and wreak political vendetta.

However, the Opposition alliance appeared non-committal about providing a political safe harbour for the former LDF ally’s Democratic Movement of Kerala.

Nevertheless, it remained to be seen whether the UDF would signal the possibility of an accord with Mr. Anvar by involving him in the Opposition’s impending mass campaign, Malayora Jatha, against the State government’s alleged indifference towards protecting the lives and property of citizens from wild animal attacks and the “anti-settler-farmer” provisions in the contentious Kerala Forest (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan said any political accommodation with Mr. Anvar was not on the cards immediately.

He said the subject was not on the agenda of the Congress’ Political Affairs Committee (PAC) meeting on January 17.

Mr. Satheesan said he was unaware whether the UDF had opened unofficial communication channels with Mr. Anvar, an acerbic critic of the Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leadership when the legislator sat on the Treasury Bench.

Mr. Satheesan said the UDF had condemned the government for arresting a legislator who led a protest march to a local forest office after a wild elephant killed his constituent. “Irrespective of politics, democracy and legislative privilege are at stake here”, he added.

‘Chilling message to adversaries’

Mr. Satheesan said the government had sent a “chilling message” that it would throw the book at political adversaries, even if they were MLAs or former allies.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K. Sudhakaran, MP, and IUML national general secretary P.K. Kunhalikutty, MLA, condemned Mr. Anvar’s arrest. The leaders said the police had arrested Mr. Anvar on fallacious grounds.

Mr. Anvar portrayed himself as the victim of a political witch-hunt.

LDF stance

LDF convener T.P. Ramakrishnan countered that Mr. Anvar’s arrest was “a natural process of law” and that the police had complied with norms. He said Mr. Anvar posed no threat to the LDF or the CPI(M) and was merely “a media creation whose sensational value had petered out.”

Mr. Ramakrishnan dispelled Mr. Satheesan’s accusation that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s office (CMO) had ordered Mr. Anvar’s arrest to deter democratic dissent.

The LDF had severed ties with Mr. Anvar in September 2024 for prosecuting a vilification campaign against the government and the CPI(M).

Mr. Anvar, who won from the Nilambur Assembly constituency as an LDF Independent in 2021, had emerged as a fierce critic of the State police and the CMO.

The estranged MLA held back-to-back press conferences accusing law enforcement of stigmatising minorities in north Kerala as gold smugglers and hawala racketeers.

Later, the Congress and the IUML echoed the same accusations, including Mr. Anvar’s charge that the Chief Minister’s office had intrigued with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s top leadership to advance Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) electoral prospects in the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency in the 2024 General Elections by “disrupting” the iconic Thrissur Pooram.

After his expulsion from the LDF, Mr. Anvar crusaded independently against the perceived wrongdoings of the government without getting any support from other parties. For one, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) had rebuffed Mr. Anvar’s attempt to ally himself with neighbouring Tamil Nadu’s ruling party.

The jury seemed out on whether Mr. Anvar’s dramatic arrest would be a turning point in the legislator’s political trajectory.