Thiruvananthapuram: Congress has expelled DCC member Chenthi Anil from the party’s primary membership following his arrest for allegedly waylaying chief minister V D Satheesan at Chenthi in the capital on Friday evening.Thiruvananthapuram DCC president N Sakthan took the action following the directive of the KPCC top brass. Anil was arrested by Sreekaryam police on Saturday and was subsequently remanded in judicial custody for 14 days.The remand report contains serious allegations against Anil. According to the report, he allegedly threatened the CM in public with the intention of insulting him and obstructed the official duties of the CM and the police personnel accompanying him. The report also states that Anil is a person included in the police rowdy list.The incident took place around 5.50pm on Friday when Anil and his supporters allegedly stopped the CM’s vehicle. The dispute arose after the CM proceeded towards Chempazhanthy without attending an event at Chenthi held as part of the Sree Narayana Guru Jayanti celebrations. As per the FIR, the CM’s vehicle stopped after he saw senior Congress functionaries assembled at Chenthi and interacted with them.Visuals of the CM getting out of his vehicle and engaging in an argument with Anil had surfaced after the incident. Anil, however, claimed that he had not blocked the vehicle and alleged that the CM had behaved in a manner similar to college students.Police have slapped sections 126(2), 351(2) and 132 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) relating to obstructing a public servant from discharging official duties, wrongful restraint, disorderly or indecent behaviour and obstruction of traffic. He was taken for a medical examination at General Hospital.Meanwhile, the CM’s office has clarified that the Chathayam day celebrations in Chenthi were not part of the CM’s official programme schedule..Following his detention, Anil alleged that the action against him was the result of factional politics within the Congress. Speaking while being taken out of the Sreekaryam police station, he claimed that the case was part of an internal group struggle in the party.The organizers of the Chathayam programme claimed that the CM had earlier assured them that he would attend the event but withdrew at the last minute. The CMO, however, said that the organisers had been informed in advance that Satheesan would not be able to attend the programme.
