Thiruvananthapuram: The much-hyped siege of Cliff House, the official residence of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, turned out to be a damp squib as the agitators ended the stir in less than two hours .
The LDF leaders and workers marched in a procession from the Raj Bhavan to the Cliff House at 10 a.m. However, they were intercepted near the Devaswom Board junction by a huge police posse. They squatted on the road and raised slogans against the Chief Minister demanding his resignation in connection with the solar scam.
Inaugurating the siege, Opposition Leader V.S. Achuthanandan said that Chandy had brought a retired judge to show that he had accepted the LDF demand for a judicial probe. But his antics would not work, he added.
CPM politburo member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said that after the poll results, the UDF constituents were trying to find out ways to save themselves from the sinking ship and that they were looking for safe avenues. Muslim League leader E.T. Mohammad Basheer had already questioned the vote catching abilities of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.
After the speech, police came to arrest the top leaders. However, this led to an argument with the police. Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and C. Divakaran sought to know from the police on what grounds were they being arrested. However, later they also courted arrest.
The siege, which according to earlier plan was to continue till 2 p.m., ended within two hours. With a series of agitations organized by the LDF failing to catch the attention or support of the people, there is already a debate within the party regarding the mode of stir.
