Thiruvananthapuram,   The Congress party on Wednesday slammed Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan for his curt and rude remarks that if the protesters break Covid protocols, they will be dealt with sternly. The Congress said, this is not what a head of the state should speak.

For the past few days protests have been raging across the state especially at Kozhikode, where the traders have threatened to open their shops breaking the present Covid protocols, as they have no other option, as their lives are in dire straits.

It was against this that Vijayan, who was in Delhi, spoke to the media on Wednesday, that if they (traders) break rules, they will be dealt with sternly and added that they should not turn smart.

Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan said this is nothing but a language not to be used by a chief minister.

"The real face of Vijayan has surfaced and his arrogance is because he has won a second term and need not face the electorate again in the near future. Just look back and see how he used to speak before the assembly polls and see his body language now. It's best that he should not speak the way the CPI-M party secretary speaks," said Satheesan.

State Congress president K. Sudhakaran said Vijayan's true colours have come out and his language smacks of arrogance.

"The tone and tenure of Vijayan is what is heard in the streets. We, the Congress party stand solidly behind the protesters as they have raised a very genuine need, as their lives have all gone haywire due to the pandemic. Instead of resolving their needs and demands, Vijayan was wrong in taking on them through this type of language," said Sudhakaran and added that while the Covid spread has slowed down all across the country, it continues to rage in Kerala, which means there is something wrong somewhere.

Now all eyes are on the traders protests which they have called on Thursday to demand that they be allowed to start operations even when the Covid protocols are in place and it remains to be seen if they will forcefully open their shops.