Youth Congress takes out protest march, burns Speaker's effigy

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 21 (IANS) The streets of the Kerala capital witnessed a confrontation between Youth Congress workers and the police on Thursday after the Youth Congress took out a protest march towards the Kerala Assembly demanding the resignation of Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan.The Youth Congress activists turned violent after the police blocked the march with barricades to prevent the workers from entering the Assembly compound.Youth Congress state chief and MLA Shafi Parambil while addressing the workers said "The Speaker of Kerala Assembly P. Sreeramakrishnan must not continue in the post anymore. He has brought disgrace to the Assembly and people's representatives after being under the radar in the dollar smuggling case".The police fired tear gas shells and water cannon towards the workers as Parambil and vice president K.S. Sabarinath led the march.The Youth Congress workers burnt the effigy of the Speaker in front of the House.The Speaker's Assistant Private Secretary Ayyappan was interrogated by the Customs for 9 hours and the Customs will be questioning the Speaker also in the dollar smuggling case after the session concludes. The session will conclude on Friday.
--IANS aal/kr