Kerala CPI(M) meets on road: 21 among 35 party activists booked for blocking traffic by staged on busy road in Vanchiyoor

The suspects include those who provide lighting, shelters and public address systems. Police have booked them under different sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. (image representation) | Photo Credit: RAO GN

Complying with the order of the Kerala High Court, the police in Thiruvananthapuram City on Wednesday (December 11, 2024) arrested at least 35 people, including 21 members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). [CPI(M)] workers, for obstructing the free movement of vehicles and pedestrians by erecting a huge stage on the busy road that crosses the premises of the district court at Vanchiyoor in the State capital last week.

The accused in this case include CPI(M) District Committee Secretary Vanchiyoor Vanchiyoor Babu.

The Vanchiyoor police released the accused on bail from the station after placing them in the legal system.

The suspects include those who provide lighting, shelters and public address systems. Police have booked them under different sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The CPI(M) has laid the groundwork and set up a large number of seats to hold the party’s regional convention at Vanchiyoor. The conference venue was well lit and included a public lecture programme.

The construction of a stage and the holding of a local conference on a busy road caused quite a stir. It was widely seen on social media and social media, putting the CPI(M) in Thiruvananthapuram on the defensive.

The public petitioner had moved the court, accusing the CPI(M) of violating the Supreme Court’s 2010 order banning public meetings on roads and streets, including on foot.

He accused the CPI(M) of holding court in contempt by blocking the Uppidamoodu-Vanchiyoor road at the party’s local conference last week.

CPI(M) district secretary, Thiruvananthapuram, V. Joy, MLA, said that the party has built a stage on the bypass road along the Amayizhanjan canal. The CPI(M) did not block the highway, as some sections of the media suggested. However, the CPI(M) should have exercised caution to avoid such controversies during state and district conferences, he said.