Yuva morcha waves black flag at Chennithala, Priyanka Gandhi in Kozhikode

Kozhikode: A day after Youth Congress workers showed black flags to Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Kollam, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha activists staged separate protests against Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi in Kozhikode district on Sunday.

Chennithala’s convoy was confronted near Janakikadu in the Kuttiady area while he was travelling to attend public programmes.

Protesters rushed towards the vehicles on a narrow stretch of road and waved black flags.

Police personnel at the scene intervened, arrested the activists and removed them from the area.

The second protest took place near Thambalamanna in Thiruvambady as Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s convoy passed through.

Activists waiting by the roadside moved forward with black flags as the vehicles approached, despite an escort comprising personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force and Kerala Police.

Thiruvambady police arrested several Yuva Morcha leaders, including district president V.V. Sreehari and general secretary Nithin Madhusoodanan.

The BJP had alleged that the Youth Congress protest against HM Shah in Kollam exposed a serious lapse in the Union minister’s security.

Yuva Morcha has since stepped up demonstrations against Congress leaders across Kerala, describing them as a response to that incident.

Police intervened at both locations in Kozhikode to move the demonstrators away from the convoys.

The incidents have drawn attention to security along the routes taken by political leaders, particularly when protesters approach vehicles on the road.

Yuva Morcha has said it plans to intensify its protests against Congress leaders in the coming days. Its activists had earlier waved black flags at the convoy of Kerala Minister K Muraleedharan in Kollam.

"Tit-for-Tat: Yuva Morcha Shows Black Flags to Priyanka Gandhi," posted the Yuva Morcha on X.

The successive demonstrations have widened the confrontation between the BJP and Congress workers following the protest against HM Shah. In Kozhikode, activists positioned themselves along the routes of two leaders travelling to separate engagements in the district before displaying the flags.

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