Left Democratic Front workers allegedly disrupted a function scheduled to be attended by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy at the District Panchayat Headquarters at Pattom here on Friday.
Mr. Chandy was scheduled to lay the foundation stone for a new office of the District Planning Commission (DPC) at the site.
The LDF workers objected to the function stating that the former Local Administration Minister Paloli Mohammed Kutty had already laid the foundation stone for the office at a site near the District Collectorate at Kudappanakunnu.
A large group of LDF workers gathered outside the office to disrupt the event. Mr. Chandy decided not to attend the ceremony at the last minute.
In his absence, district panchayat president Remani. P. Nair of the Congress announced that she would be laying the foundation stone in the absence of the Chief Minister.
Stage vandalised
Irate LDF workers, broke through the police cordon and vandalised the stage. A few of them damaged the foundation stone. They threw stones at Congress workers who tried to stop them. The Congress later accused the police of being mute witness to the vandalism.
The police registered a case of public property destruction in connection with the incident. Communist Party of India (Marxist) district president Kadakampally Surendran and V. Sivankutty, MLA, led the protest.
