Row over Road Widening Ends in Scuffle with A P Abdullakutty

KANNUR: A group of Congressmen, led by Kannur District Congress Committee secretary K Pramod, engaged in a heated exchange of words and allegedly scuffled with A P Abdullakutty MLA at the latter’s house at Pallikkunnu on Monday.

Sources said that Pramod and a group of Congress activists reached the MLA’s house, around 8.30 am, to discuss the controversy over handing over the land of Othayoth Thiyya Smasanam, a community burial place in the town for road widening. Abdullakutty stood for widening, but the Congress leader and the committee that manages the burial place raised some objections.

The MLA and the DCC secretary had a spirited exchange on the issue over phone on Sunday and the incident on Monday was a sequel that went a bit too far, sources said. The MLA’s gunman was present when the incident took place.

Abdullakutty refused to deny or confirm the reports about the scuffle. The MLA, however, told ‘Express’ over phone that he would stand strong for the road widening in Kannur to find a lasting solution to the traffic woes. He hoped that everyone would cooperate and oblige with the request of the district collector to give away 3 m of land of the burial place for road widening. “I request everyone to wholeheartedly cooperate with the initiatives to end the traffic woes here,” Abdullakutty said.

Pramod denied that there was a scuffle or an attempt to manhandle the MLA. Nevertheless, the Congress leader confessed that they had a heated exchange of words.

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