The march taken out by the Youth Congress activists to the office of the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) on Monday turned violent.
The march was in protest against Kerala Cricket Association president T.C. Mathew’s response to Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor’s criticism of KCA on the drainage facility at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium.
Around 20 Youth Congress activists barged into the KCA office inside the stadium around 12 noon demanding an apology from the association president T.C. Mathew for his remarks over Tharoor’s tweet.
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The protestors destroyed the office boards and laid siege to Kerala Cricket Association secretary T.N. Ananthanarayanan who was present in the office for almost 45 minutes. The protestors demanded an inquiry in to the alleged corruption by the KCA in the guise of stadium renovation and an apology for the perceived insult to Mr. Tharoor. They barged into the office on the first floor and demolished the boards and a clock inside. The activists relented only after Kerala Cricket Association reportedly gave a written apology.
Mr. Tharoor had blasted KCA after successive Duleep Trophy matches were affected by soggy ground conditions owing to spells of overnight rain. Mr. Mathew responded to this by criticizing the Minister.