The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : UDF walkout over caning of youth activists

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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

UDF walkout over caning of youth activists

Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) members staged a walkout from the Assembly on Wednesday taking strong exception to the police action against pro-UDF youth activists in different incidents here on Tuesday.

The Opposition sought adjournment of the proceedings to discuss the issue, but Speaker K. Radhakrishnan denied leave for the motion following Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s explanation that only minimum force was used to disperse the Youth Congress and Youth Front workers, the former on a march to the Legislative Assembly and the latter on a march to the Secretariat, to protest against the government’s refusal to withdraw the controversial Class VII Social Science textbook.

The Home Minister, who opposed the motion tabled by P.C. Vishnunath (Congress) and others, quoted from various newspapers to buttress his argument and said that it was the Youth Congress activists and not the police who had unleashed violence just before the Youth Congress march reached the Assembly gate.

Mr. Vishnunath questioned the Home Minister’s claims and produced a blood-stained shirt which, he said, was worn by one of the agitating youth activists. Mr. Balakrishnan retorted that not even the UDF was united in its opposition to the book and cited statements by JSS leader K.R. Gouri and CMP leader M.V. Raghavan to the effect that they did not see anything wrong with the controversial lesson or the textbook.

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