Kanyakumari: Union minister of state for finance and shipping and BJP candidate for Kanyakumari Lok Sabha constituency, Pon Radhakrishnan, cutting across political lines, reached out to his rival candidate, H. Vasantha Kumar of Congress, to avert a clash between the Congress and the BJP, at Nagercoil.
Getting irritated over the digital banners put up by the AIADMK and BJP cadres to welcome Chief Minister, Edappadi Palaniswami, who visited Nagercoil on Wednesday to campaign for Pon Radhakrishnan near Vadassery bus stand, the Congress and the DMK cadre picked up quarrel with the AIADMK, DMDK and BJP supporters.
The Congress cadre accompanied by Vasantha Kumar, campaigning in the area on Wednesday morning, also resorted to a road blockade in the busy Vadasery bus stand area, creating traffic problems. Tension mounted as supporters of the AIADMK and BJP too gathered to retaliate the action of the Congress and DMK men.
On information of a possible clash, Union Minister and BJP candidate Pon Radhakrishnan, rushed to the spot and controlled his party men and got down from his campaign vehicle to reach out to his rival candidate, H. Vasantha Kumar, and agreed to remove the banners put up by his supporters.
Both the leaders later jointly appealed to their respective supporters to disperse and eased the build up of tension in the area.
Election officials, who later inspected the spot on the complaint of the Congress, however, said that the banners were put up after obtaining proper permission within 200 metre radius of the meeting venue.
