Thiruvananthapuram: Protests against the disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from Parliament continued for the second day on Saturday in Kerala’s Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency with angry Congressmen burning Prime Minister Narendra Modi in effigy at Kalpetta.
Police had a tough time controlling the protestors, who, led by party MLA from Kalpetta (Wayanad) T Siddique, tried to barge into the BSNL office.
At Kalpetta, the protests turned violent when angry Youth Congress workers clashed with the police and when they were being moved, agitators led by Siddique tried to stop them.
Later, Siddique and other leaders were arrested and taken to the police station.
The protestors raised anti-Modi slogans and similar protests were seen across the Lok Sabha constituency at centers like Sulthan Bathery, Mananthavady, and smaller towns.
Several women also participated in the protests and places, the police and the protestors were seen taking on one another.
Similar protests were witnessed in several other districts and at the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation Council meeting, the Congress workers raised the issue and soon came strong opposition to it from the BJP members.
Meanwhile, the Congress in Wayanad is waiting for Rahul Gandhi’s letter to the people of his constituency.
Earlier in the day, Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly and senior Congress leader V D Satheesan told reporters in Kochi that the party and the UDF would be holding protests across the state against the disqualification of Gandhi.
The party would also hold a protest march to the Kerala Raj Bhavan on March 27, he said.
Gandhi was convicted and sentenced to two years in jail by a Surat court on Wednesday in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his “Modi surname” remark.
A day later, the Lok Sabha Secretariat in a notification said that his disqualification was effective from March 23 – the day of his conviction.
(With inputs from agencies)
