Thousands of Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) workers laid siege to the Kerala government Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday, seeking the resignation of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan government, which is “immersed in corruption and nepotism.”

The opposition UDF workers and supporters turned up in large numbers outside the Secretariat around 6 am onwards. The protesting UDF workers blocked three gates of the Secretariat building, excluding the Cantonment gate.

The protesters highlighted the corruption in the installation of AI cameras, K-FON, CMRL pay-off(Masappadi) case, the controversy surrounding the cooperative bank scams , law and order issues and bad governance. They also raised the rise in price of fuel, electricity and daily essentials in Kerala.

The protest that drew thousands of UDF workers from across the state marked the commencement of the Congress-led front’s campaign against the ruling LDF government in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

KPCC president K Sudhakaran, Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan, UDF convenor MM Hassan, former opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader PK Kunhalikutty,Dr. M. K. Muneer, PJ Joseph, Shibu Baby John, Anoop Jacob, CP John, G Devarajan, Mani C Kappan, and AN Rajan Babu joined the picket line with the protesters.

Calling Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as an “authoritarian leader” of a corruption-ridden regime, UDF leaders highlighted the allegations of corruption surrounding CM Vijayan’s family and office.

Inaugurating the protest, Opposition leader VD Satheesan said that under the LDF rule, Kerala has become a paradise for tax evaders and that the state is being ruled by looters.

He alleged that the CPI-M is responsible for impoverishing thousands of ordinary people, who deposited their life savings in party-controlled cooperative banks. CPI-M leaders used party-controlled cooperative banks as a front for laundering their ill-gotten wealth, Satheesan further said.

Addressing the gathering, UDF convenor MM Hassan demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

“Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who is fully corrupt, should resign. We got a historic majority in the Puthuppally bye-election, which is a reflection of how people are fed up with this government,” Hassan said.