Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala were among the prominent Congress leaders who travelled along with hundreds of party workers.
Kochi: A ‘Janakeeya Yatra’ was organised in the Kochi Metro by the United Development Front (UDF) leaders on Tuesday in protest against the Congress leaders not being given due consideration during inauguration of the modern transport system. Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala were among the prominent Congress leaders who travelled along with hundreds of party workers from Aluva metro station to Palarivttom station at 3 .15 pm. The ‘yatra’ though posed difficulty to regular commuters of Metro who found it difficult to board and de-board at the stations as the party workers indulged in sloganeering after entering the platforms in groups. It also threw the traffic out of gear along the National Highway before the Palarivattom metro station as hundreds of party workers assembled there amid beating of drums.
While commuters complained of the metro being “stopped” for some time due to the chaos, a metro spokesperson said the metro train was only delayed slightly to ensure safety of commuters and there was “no break in the services” which ran full for most of the trips for the second straight day. “The metro is the result of joint efforts of all Kochiites. If we stand united, we can implement any mega projects successfully. This is proved by the successful metro project,” Oommen Chandy said while addressing the party workers. However, he refrained from making any political comments or attack in the ruling LDF government. KPCC President M M Hassan, P C Vishnunadh, K C Joseph, Aryadan Muhammad, Benny Behanan, K Babu, Hibi Eden, Shafi Parambil, V P Sajeendran and Anwar Sadath MLA among other senior leaders took part in the protest journey.
