Sivankutty's visit to Kozhikode marred by black flag protests

TENSION flared up in Kozhikode on Saturday during the visit of General Education Minister V Sivankutty as the Yuva Morcha BJP workers protested over the Bharat Mata row.

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @Kozhikode

TENSION flared up in Kozhikode on Saturday during the visit of General Education Minister V Sivankutty as the Yuva Morcha BJP workers protested over the Bharat Mata row. Yuva Morcha workers who staged a black flag protest against the minister were stopped by SFI workers which resulted in a clash. On Saturday, when the minister arrived at Jubilee Hall in Tali to attend a programme related to the SFI national conference, Yuva Morcha workers waved black flags at the minister. The protesters were stopped by SFI workers leading to a clash between both outfits. Following this, the police intervened and took the workers into custody. Soon after, when Fraternity workers also came to protest there in connection with the Plus-I seat crisis in the Malabar region, SFI workers stopped them too and a clash broke out again. Police intervened in this too and took members of both groups into custody.

Protesting the incident of SFI workers attacking Yuva Morcha workers, BJP members burnt the minister in effigy. BJP leaders alleged that police were helping SFI members to attack Yuva Morcha workers. "Our workers were beaten up by CPM workers and the police. If the police do not arrest the criminals, we will retaliate. BJP knows what to do if police do not take necessary action," said BJP Kozhikode district president K P Prakash Babu.