Youth Congress and Kerala Students’ Union (KSU) activists reportedly waved black flags and threw shoes at the convoy carrying Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his Cabinet colleagues, who were travelling from Perumbavoor to Kothamangalam in Ernakulam as part of the Navakerala Sadas, on Sunday afternoon.
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A shoe was reportedly thrown at the bus carrying the Chief Minister and his colleagues, and another hit an escort vehicle. Security personnel in the convoy rounded up a few activists and beat them using lathis. The activists are said to have waved black flags before the convoy reached the place. The Kurupumpady police are probing the incident, it is learnt.
Eldhose Kunnapilly, MLA, said he was assaulted by DYFI activists when he brought a Youth Congress activist who had been assaulted by them, to a hospital at Perumbavoor. He further alleged that his driver suffered injuries to his nose, as he intervened to save him, with the result that both of them were admitted to the hospital.
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A similar mode of protest by waving black flags was reported at Kothamangalam as well, following which two youths were taken into custody by the police.
State president of KSU Aloysius Xavier said the mode of protest against the State-wide ‘luxurious trip’ by the Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues would change in the coming days, and the throwing of shoes at the convoy was just a beginning. It would continue till the convoy reached Thiruvananthapuram, especially since DYFI activists had unleashed a brutal assault on protesters who waved black flags. Legal steps would be taken against the police joining in the assault, he added.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, while speaking at the Navakerala Sadas at Kothamangalam on Sunday, warned that the government would be forced to take appropriate steps if Youth Congress workers continued to indulge in acts. He added that such incidents posed a challenge to the State.
Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala termed the attack on the Congress MLA and activists as deplorable, while Ernakulam District Congress Committee president Mohammed Shiyas said goons were having a free run under the LDF government.
The Chief Minister “condoning” such attacks on Congress activists has resulted in an MLA coming under attack. Congress workers would be forced to defend such attacks if they recurred, he warned and said that police station marches would be taken out in the 14 Assembly constituencies in the district on Monday as a mark of protest.