K-Rail protest: Congress leaders manhandled while marching to Parliament

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Mar 24, 2022: Several MPs who were part of the Congress-led UDF in Kerala were allegedly manhandled outside the Parliament in Delhi on Tuesday, March 24 as protests against the K-Rail project continued. This came in the backdrop of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the project and get sanction.

 

The Kerala government’s ambitious semi-high speed rail project SilverLine also known as the K-Rail project is a joint venture of the Kerala government and the Railway Ministry. Kerala is awaiting approval from the Union government for the project. The project has been facing massive protests over the survey and marking of the corridor boundary, and is embroiled in political controversy.

 

The preposterous misuse of State power to silence our nation’s democratic voice is unacceptable!

While the CPIM destroys Kerala’s future through its Silver-line project & bulldozes the people’s voice of protest, BJP’s diktat has led to manhandling of MPs by Delhi Police.

Shame! pic.twitter.com/L0JgnVbsxF

— K C Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) March 24, 2022

 

Congress MP Hibi Eden, according to reports, was slapped, while MPs Ramya Haridas, K Muraleedharan and Kodukkunil Suresh were manhandled. Dean Kuriakose and VK Sreekandan also alleged that they were manhandled by the police. The Congress MPs were stopped when they were marching to Parliament after addressing a press conference at Vijay Chowk when they were stopped by the police and that led to the fracas.

According to the Indian Express, the Public Relations Officer for the Delhi Police denied that anything happened, and said that the MPs had just been stopped.

“A few people came to the North Fountain barricades point from the media lawn shouting in Malayalam. They were stopped by the staff at the barricades. They claimed to be MPs and continued shouting. They were asked to show their ID cards, which they denied. Meanwhile, staff from the security picket at Gate No 1 of Parliament were called to identify the MPs. The staff came and identified them, and they were then allowed to go forward,” the PRO reportedly said.

Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal tweeted a video and called it a “preposterous misuse of state power”. “The preposterous misuse of State power to silence our nation’s democratic voice is unacceptable! While the CPIM destroys Kerala’s future through its Silver-line project & bulldozes the people’s voice of protest, BJP’s diktat has led to manhandling of MPs by Delhi Police (sic),” he said.

He told ANI that the project is anti-people, and that this is not an economically viable project.

Raising the issue in Lok Sabha , Congress member K Suresh said a total of 12 MPs, including women parliamentarians, had started their protest march from Vijay Chowk at 10.45 am on Thursday when Delhi police personnel came and "blocked them without any provocation". "We told them we were MPs. They (police) said you (protesting MPs) are shouting slogans. We said it is our right to shout slogans. They assaulted us, manhandled us, pushed us without any provocation," Suresh told Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

RSP member N K Premchandran called the incident "unfortunate" and said the police personnel were well aware that all those participating in the protest were MPs, but still did not alow them to enter the Parliament complex. "This is a question of our privilege," the RSP leader said.

The Speaker assured the members that he will "discuss this matter with the authorities", saying the members had raised their grievance before him in writing as well.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and according to reports, he was expected to discuss various issues related to Kerala, including about SilverLine.

On Wednesday too, the Rajya Sabha witnessed an altercation between CPI(M) and BJP MPs with both accusing each other of doing politics over the project. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan accused the Kerala government of "misleading" the people about the K-Rail project and termed the opposition’s protest "ill-motivated".

There was a serious law and order situation as people protesting the project are beaten black and blue and threatened by the Left government, who are considered to be a supporter of the poor, he claimed.

Courtesy: The News Minute