Kerala Police uses water cannon, teargas against Youth Congress workers staging a protest

Ahead of the assembly elections, Kerala Police on Saturday used water cannon, teargas and grenade on Youth Congress workers who are staging a protest against backdoor appoint made by LDF government in the state. This comes after the Opposition Congress-led UDF on Tuesday lashed out at the LDF government in the Kerala Assembly over alleged backdoor appointments and attempts to make permanent contract staff en masse in various state-run institutions. Even after CM Pinarayi Vijayan denied the charges, the Congress-led UDF staged a walkout in the Assembly. 

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UDF claimed that the government of the state had made double the number of temporary appointments than the total number of recruitment by the state Public Service Commission (PSC), which is the apex recruitment agency in Kerala. Not only this, but the Opposition had also released a letter written by the state Film Academy Chairman Kamal to Cultural Affairs Minister AK Balan requesting that the contract employees who have a leaning towards Marxist ideology in the institution be made permanent to maintain the Left-leaning nature of the institution. 

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Sachin Tendulkar's poster smeared with oil

READ | Sachin Tendulkar's Poster Smeared With Oil By Youth Congress Over ‘India Together’ Tweet

Earlier on Friday, former India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's poster was smeared with black oil by members of Kerala's Youth Congress after he tweeted against the meddling of foreign personalities in the ongoing farmers' stir. The batting maestro has been subject to extensive criticism by several factions for calling out the propaganda by 'external forces'. Following Tendulkar, several members of the cricket fraternity had tweeted against the wading in of foreign personalities including pop-sensation Rihanna and environment activist Greta Thunberg. 

On February 3, Tendulkar had tweeted that external forces can be spectators but not participants in India's internal affairs. His tweet came after Rihanna had shared a news story on the ongoing farmers' agitation in India and tweeted, "Why aren't we talking about this?" What followed was several personalities including Greta Thunberg and US Vice President Kamala Harris' niece Meena Harris tweeting in support of the agitating farmers. In response, several cricketers and Bollywood personalities had tweeted against the meddling and called for unity in India, hoping for quick resolution of the ongoing impasse between the government and the farmers. 

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