Kerala Health Minister Hurt During Protest By KSU Activists; Congress Denies Allegations

A case of attempted murder has been registered against the KSU activists. DGP Rawada Chandrasekhar said that five people have been taken into custody in connection with the incident.

The arrested KSU activists will be handed over to the railway police as the alleged attack took place inside the premises of Kannur railway station. The arrested KSU activists who were taken to the Kannur Town Police Station are: MC Atul, CH Mubas, Mohammed Yasin, Akshay Mattul and Bitul.

The incident took place at Kannur railway station at around 3:30 pm today when a group of KSU activists showed black flags to Minister Veena George, who was scheduled to return to Thiruvananthapuram by Vande Bharat train. The activists broke through the police cordon and showed black flags to the minister.

When the minister turned around and reacted harshly to the protesting KSU activists, the police took them away from the spot.

The minister, who stated that she had sustained injuries to her neck in the incident, sat on the platform for a short while. Later, the minister was admitted to the ICU at the Kannur District Hospital for treatment. CPM leaders said the minister was experiencing severe pain in his neck and was unable to speak.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan visited the Health Minister at the hospital. He said the incident was the result of the Congress’s politics of violence. “Physical violence against the Health Minister is extremely condemnable, and it is planned hooliganism. Some people are deliberately trying to create riots in Kerala, and LDF workers should not fall into the trap of such criminal gangs,” he said.

Opposition Leader V D Satheesan said the KSU activists were nowhere near the minister during the protest. There was a strong police cordon that protected the minister and the activists were raising slogans and showing black flags from outside.

He said if any KSU activist is found to have acted violently, action would definitely be taken against them. “As of now, there is no evidence or footage to show that the activists had harmed her,” the opposition leader said, adding that the protest against the deterioration of the health sector would continue.

Protests have been ongoing against the minister in many places in Kannur over the past few days.

Speaker A N Shamseer also arrived at the Kannur Railway Station soon after the incident, condemning the violent protest by KSU activists.

The protests against the health minister followed a series of reports of medical negligence in government hospitals, including a recent incident in which a pair of forceps was allegedly left inside the abdomen of a 51-year-old woman during surgery.

There was a heavy police presence at Kannur railway station in view of the minister's arrival. She had arrived in Kannur for the inauguration of the Ayurveda Research Centre and also a taluk hospital in Peringome. The Youth Congress and KSU activists had staged demonstrations at four places during the minister's visit.

KSU state president Aloshious Xavier said he had reviewed the live-streamed visuals and not found any video evidence to suggest KSU activists had assaulted the minister. "There was a protest. It was a natural response of the activists in view of the deteriorating condition of Kerala's health sector," he said.

The KSU leader said there were visuals of the minister confronting protesters in an agitated manner.