THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: If it was the LMS compound that turned a venue for bitter clashes on Thursday, it was the turn of District Panchayat office to witness stormy scenes on Friday. The foundation-stone laying for the headquarters of District Planning Committee (DPC) ended in a ruckus with the LDF leaders in the district disrupting the function, taking over the stage and some of the top leaders holding a sit-in in front of the Panchayat office. As the police team led by City Commissioner Manoj Abraham largely remained a mute witness to the rampage of the LDF leaders, the UDF leaders were forced to defend themselves. As the Ministers who were supposed to turn up kept away, UDF leaders forced Panchayat president Remani P Nair to inaugurate the foundation stone-laying function, which led to a scuffle at the venue between the members of both fronts. Ever since the inauguration was announced by the District Panchayat officials in the beginning of this week, the LDF leaders had come out in protest against it. Former LSG Minister Paloli Mohammed Kutty had laid the foundation stone for the DPC office at Kudapanakkunnu Civil Station some eight months ago. A second inauguration when a new government assumes power is a cheap political move, the Left leaders had alleged. They had warned about a blockade on Thursday itself. On Friday afternoon, the CPM leaders of the Panchayat and the top CPM leaders in the district, including Anavoor Nagappan, Jayan Babu, Mayor K Chandrika, V Sivankutty MLA, Kadakampally Surendran and others made their presence felt at the venue before the start of the function. The LDF leaders started shouting slogans and took over the stage. At this point, the police team which arrived on the scene tried to calm down both sides. However, the police orders got submerged in the sloganeering. As a tit for tat, the UDF members also started to shout slogans and the police team was caught in the middle. Minutes later, chairs could be seen flying through the air as CPM leaders began using them to vent their anger. The UDF team also answered in the same coin. Finally, the UDF leaders, amidst the pandemonium, made the Panchayat president carry out the inaugural function and it was announced as done. The Panchayat officials said that the CM had not turned up owing to frail health, but the Ministers - K C Joseph and V S Sivakumar - who were to be present, were asked to keep away. Panchayat president Remani could be heard asking if this was the way the police were to handle a function which was to be presided by the CM. She alleged that the police were letting the CPM activists have their own way. The UDF leaders said that in all districts, the DPC office is adjacent to the Panchayat headquarters as the Panchayat president is the Chairman of the DPC too. The LDF, however, says that the Panchayat office in Pattom which is already suffering from space crunch cannot accommodate another building. Moreover, spacious land has been set aside at another place and it has been already inaugurated, which makes the whole idea of a second inauguration a political degradation on the side of the UDF, they alleged.
Comments
0 comment