Thiruvananthapuram: A day after he was booked for blocking chief minister VD Satheesan's motorcade, Thiruvananthapuram District Congress leader Chenthi Anil has been expelled from the party's primary membership, by the Congress leadership.
Anil was arrested by the police on Saturday morning. He was remanded to judicial custody for 14 days by the Thiruvananthapuram Judicial First Class Magistrate Court for allegedly blocking the VD Satheesan's motorcade near Sreekaryam, on Friday night. The Sreekaryam Police, who took Anil into custody on Friday night, hours after the incident, have also mentioned the previous cases against him in the remand report.
Meanwhile, the Congress has ousted him from the primary membership, terming this a serious issue.
Police officials informed that Anil has been accused of multiple cases, including threatening and attacking people in multiple stations, including Sreekaryam, Thumba and Medical College. Custody of the accused will be sought if found necessary, Sreekaryam Police added.
Speaking about the issue, Thiruvananthapuram DCC president N Sakthan told TNIE that the issue cannot be treated as flimsy. "Whatever be the reason, a person stopping the Chief Minister before the public cannot be treated as a trivial incident. Especially when a Congress member is doing this when the UDF is in power. There are multiple cases against Anil, but I am unaware if the party has received any complaints against him," Sakthan responded. He also added that Anil had been a DCC member for over a decade.
KPCC president Sunny Joseph responded that the party's stance on the issue is clear through the disciplinary action. "The CM had informed the programme organisers that he had to cancel the event," Sunny Joseph told the media. Health Minister K Muraleedharan also commented that making derogatory remarks against the Chief Minister, whoever it be, is not ideal in any culture. Meanwhile, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala refused to respond to the issue, beyond the statement that the legal procedures will go forward independently.
Meanwhile Chenthi Anil responded to the media that the issue is being escalated by the group war within the party.
The incident took place on Friday evening, when the Chief Minister skipped the Chathayam Day celebrations organised by a local group. Videos of the incident indicated that the CM's vehicle had to pull off near the venue after a group of people gathered on the roadside. Satheesan also had a heated exchange with Anil after stepping down from the vehicle.
