Thiruvananthapuram: As the Pinarayi Vijayan government completes one year in office, protesters from the opposition UDF and the NDA swarmed the Secretariat in the state capital on Thursday.
There were reports of skirmishes between Youth Congress and Yuva Morcha workers, both out to dampen the celebrations of the Pinarayi government.
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Hundreds of Youth Congress and Yuva Morcha activists had gathered since Wednesday night in front of the Secretariat as part of a '24-hour siege' protest against the government, alleging that its one year rule was a "total failure."
The altercation happened after the Youth Congress workers allegedly trespassed into the area allotted for Yuva Morcha activists. The activists pelted stones at each other and tore flex boards. A policeman was injured in the stone throwing and police used water cannons to disperse them, police said.
'Total failure'
Earlier, inaugurating the Yuva Morcha rally, Poonam Mahajan, national president, said the "red terror" unleashed by Marxist workers against the cadres of saffron outfits should end.
Alleging that the attack against party workers had increased after LDF government came to power in May last year, Mahajan wanted the Center to hold a proper inquiry into the killings of RSS-BJP workers.
Since the 1960s, in Kannur, from where the chief minister hails, over 200 RSS-BJP workers have been killed, she alleged. "No FIRs have been registered," she said.
BJP leaders Ram Madhav and H Raja were among those who spoke.
BJP Kerala president Kummanam Rajasekharan said "there is no water nor rice in ration shops, and no jobs for the youth. What has the government done to celebrate its first year in office."
Youth Congress national president Amarinder Singh Raja inaugurated the youth congress rally.
Speaking at the rally, KPCC president M.M. Hassan said there was nothing for the LDF government to celebrate as its policies were all "anti-people."