DCC member held for stopping Kerala CM’s convoy; faces suspension from Congress

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 29 (IANS) In a shocking incident, police took District Congress Committee (DCC) member and prominent local leader Chenthi Anil into custody for allegedly stopping Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan’s vehicle during Chathaya Day celebrations at Chenthi on Friday night. The Congress party on Saturday decided to suspend Chenthi Anil from the party for his misbehaviour towards CM Satheesan.

Chenthi Anil was taken into custody by the Sreekaryam police and after completion of preliminary procedures, soon he will be produced before a local court.

The development has triggered political tensions within the Congress in the capital, with Chenthi Anil alleging that the police action was an outcome of factional battles within the party.

Just before being taken into custody, Chenthi Anil said the organisers had invited the Chief Minister to the Chathaya Day celebrations and that the decision to stop his vehicle was prompted by their expectation that he would attend the function.

“We had invited the Chief Minister for our programme,” Chenthi Anil said, maintaining that the organisers had made arrangements expecting his presence.

Later, shortly before his arrest was formally recorded on Saturday morning, Chenthi Anil attributed the police action to factionalism within the Congress.

The case stems from an incident in which the Chief Minister’s vehicle was stopped while he was proceeding to a programme at nearby Chempazhanthy.

Police allege that a group led by Chenthi Anil signalled the vehicle to stop and that he behaved improperly with the Chief Minister.

The Chief Minister reportedly got out of the vehicle after it was stopped but left without inaugurating the Chathaya Day programme.

Security personnel then intervened and pushed the protesters aside to clear the way for the convoy.

Police subsequently registered a case based on the statement of a Grade Sub-Inspector who was present at the spot.

The charges include obstructing the Chief Minister in the discharge of his official duties, wrongful restraint, insulting behaviour and obstruction of traffic.

The Thiruvananthapuram City Police Commissioner is understood to have intervened after the incident and directed the police to register a case.

Police, however, maintain that the Chenthi programme was not part of the Chief Minister’s official schedule.

Chenthi Anil, a former municipal councillor’s husband and a prominent Congress figure in the Sreekaryam-Chenthi belt, has also been active in community organisations and is a local SNDP Union office-bearer.

The organisers alleged that the Chief Minister’s failure to attend the programme amounted to an insult to the locality and the celebrations.

The incident and Chenthi Anil’s subsequent detention are likely to intensify the tensions within the Congress in Thiruvananthapuram.

–IANS

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