Congress Stir In Kerala Continues

Protest demonstrations by Congressmen and pro-Congress Kerala Students Union activists over the arrest of Congress leader, Oommen Chandy, and the demand for withdrawal of night-time loadshedding in view of the SSLC examinations continued in different parts of the state yesterday, leading to police intervention.

In the capital, party leaders and MLAs belonging to the district marched to the secretariat and staged a dharna.

Addressing the dharna, the opposition leader in the state assembly, A K Antony, demanded that a judicial enquiry be ordered into the alleged police excesses at the DCC office in Kottayam two days back, which had led to Chandys arrest.

Shortly after the dharna ended, there was tension around the nearby University College area when stones were allegedly thrown at the processionists who were going back. On the other hand, pro-Marxist Students Federation of India alleged that the processionists had indulged in stoning while passing the area.

In Mavelikkara in Alappuzha district, Congressmen led by M Murali, MLA, staged a dharna before the police station protesting against the manhandling of the municipal council vice-chairman Rajan, by police. However, police denied it.

In Palakkad, a group of KSU students who forced their way into the collectors office were taken into custody. Four KSU activists were held at Thamarassery in Kozhikode when trouble arose over the forcible closure of some shops.

In Thrissur, about a dozen KSU demonstrators were taken into custody after they marched to the Vidyuthi Bhavan there. Meanwhile, Chandy, who was been lodged in the Kottayam sub-jail after his arrest on March 2, continued his fast demanding action against police excesses.

While Assembly speaker M Vijayakumar yesterday said he would, when necessary, intervene in the fast, senior Congress leader and former Union minister K Karunakaran urged the government to withdraw the night load-shedding during the SSLC exams as it was affecting over five lakh students.

He wanted government to institute a judicious enquiry into the police excesses during the current students protest. The students were agitating for a just cause, he said, adding government should not have created a situation that instigated the students to go on a protest.

Addressing a press meet at Kottayam, Congress MP Ramesh Chennithala said he would observe a days fast here today in support of the fast by Chandy.

UDF liaison committee convener, K Sankaranarayanan, said a high-level meeting of the UDF partners, to be held in Thiruvananthapuram today, would chalk out a future course of action if the government did not come forward to settle the issue before then.