Thiruvananthapuram: The BJP has called a dawn-to- dusk hartal in Thiruvananthapuram district on Tuesday in protest against the police action on the BJP workers who took out a march to the secretariat on the Sabarimala issue on Monday. The march led by BJP and Yuva Morcha workers turned violent when the protestors pelted stones at the police. The police used water cannons and teargas to disperse the protestors who tried to forcibly open the secretariat gate. They also destroyed the police barricades.
Nearly a dozen Mahila Morcha activists, including Kazhakoottam mandalam president Sreevi-dya, were injured and ad-mitted to hospital following police lathicharge.
ANR SHIFTED TO MC
Meanwhile, BJP state general secretary A. N. Radhakrishnan, who had been on a hunger strike in front of the secretariat for the last eight days demanding the lifting of the curbs at Sabarimala, was arrested and shifted to the medical college hospital here after his health deteriorated. For-mer BJP state president C. K. Padmanabhan took over his place immediately thereafter.
Earlier, Union Minister of State for Tourism Al-phons Kannnanthanam visited Mr Radhakrishn-an at the satyagraha pandal and asked the government to lift the prohibitory orders at Sabarimala.
EXAMS POSTPONED
Plus-one and Plus-Two exams have been postponed to December 21 in view of the hartal. School exams till class 10 have also been postponed. But normal classes will be held. The A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technological Un-iversity has postponed all the exams scheduled for Tuesday to December 18.
