Kannur (Kerala), Feb 25 Kerala Health Minister Veena George was injured as opposition student activists, protesting against her, clashed with police at the Kannur railway station, forcing her to cancel her onward journey and seek medical treatment.
The minister had arrived at the Kannur railway station to board the Vande Bharat Express after attending official programmes in Kannur.
As she reached the premises, activists of the Kerala Students Union (KSU), the student wing of the Congress, along with members of the youth wing of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), staged a protest against her.
Police personnel attempted to disperse the demonstrators and clear the way for the Minister. The situation escalated quickly into a melee on the platform.
In the ensuing commotion, George reportedly came in between the protesters and the police. During the jostling that followed, she sustained injuries to her neck and hand.
Coincidentally, Assembly Speaker A. N. Shamseer had just entered the station, with the Minister arriving shortly behind him.
The situation escalated quickly into a melee on the platform.
George was seen speaking over the telephone and admitting that she experienced pain radiating from the right side of her neck.
Though the minister initially waited at the station hoping to continue her journey, she later said she was unable to travel due to increasing discomfort.
Her trip was subsequently cancelled, and she was shifted on a trolley from the railway station and taken in a vehicle to the Kannur District Hospital for medical examination and treatment.
Following news of the incident, local leaders of the CPI-M began arriving at the hospital.
Party workers gathered outside as doctors assessed the extent of her injuries.
Police are likely to examine the circumstances leading to the security breach and review arrangements at the station.
Reacting to the episode, Speaker Shamseer said protests were part of democracy, but physically manhandling a minister was unacceptable and dangerous to democratic norms.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan condemned the incident, saying that the KSU's attack on the Health Minister Veena George was "a reflection of the Congress party’s deplorable political culture".
"The Health Minister was assaulted and injured at the Kannur railway station. What occurred there was not any form of protest demonstration, it was the rampage of a group of violent miscreants. The Minister was attacked while she was walking towards the platform."
Stressing that "Kerala has the best healthcare system in India" and that "this has been acknowledged by all official agencies", the Chief Minister said: "Yet, by exaggerating certain incidents and targeting a Minister who had no involvement whatsoever in them, the attack cannot be seen as politics, it can only be viewed as a perversion of politics."
"The Congress leadership should not assume that by unleashing their followers they can disrupt law and order or incite unrest in the state. The responsibility for this lies squarely with the leadership of the Congress party and the UDF alliance. The attack carried out by KSU activists is a manifestation of their style of sullying politics by raising completely baseless allegations. This is highly condemnable and deserves strong protest," he said.
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