Various political outfits in the state organised protest marches around the state following the arrests of Bineesh Kodiyeri and former principal secretary M Sivasankar. The demand for Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's resignation echoed across Thiruvananthapuram as protests took place in various parts of the city. Meanwhile, a Youth Congress march turned violent yesterday evening at the Cliff House gates, with the police and the members engaging in a scuffle.
Youth Congress had organised a protest march starting from Museum junction at 7pm and moved towards Devaswom Board junction where they were stopped by the police. A scuffle broke out between the two, with the police reporting stone-pelting. This attracted the police standing guard near the Cliff House entrance. However, a small group of Youth Congress members used the distraction to rush to the CM residence, resulting in a serious security lapse.
Police were able to stop the protesters, but the outfit had already reached the gates by then. This has been a cause for concern. The Cliff House is the official residence of the Chief Minister and any lapse in the security can result in serious problems. Police arrested protesters and removed them from the premises. Shortly, City Police Commissioner Balram Kumar Upadhyay and DCP Divya V Gopinath arrived to brief the CM on the security lapse. Five officers have been suspended from service, and Museum circle inspector and sub-inspector have been transferred. Authorities have handed over Cliff House security to State Industrial Security Force (SISF).
Meanwhile, various outfits continue their protests in the city and many have taken a violent turn. Earlier yesterday, Mahila Congress protestors rushed into the Secretariat following a demonstration outside demanding the CM’s resignation. On the other side, many others have also demanded that Kodiyeri Balakrishnan step down as the CPI (M) State Secretary after ED arrested his son Bineesh Kodiyeri in connection with the Bengaluru drug case.
However, the CPI (M) central committee emphasizes that Bineesh will face the accusations alone, the party has no part in it and thus there is no need for Kodiyeri to step down. This has resulted in protests. Various protesting outfits have informed that they will continue their demonstrations until the demands have been met.
