Thiruvananthapuram, August 29, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Congress has decided to suspend District Congress Committee (DCC) member and local leader Chenthi Anil following his alleged misbehaviour towards Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan during Chathaya Day celebrations in Chenthi.
Police took Anil into custody on Friday night after he allegedly stopped the Chief Minister’s vehicle while Satheesan was travelling to a programme at nearby Chempazhanthy.
Anil was detained by the Sreekaryam police and, after completion of preliminary procedures, is expected to be produced before a local court.
The incident has triggered fresh political tensions within the Congress in Thiruvananthapuram, with Anil alleging that the police action was linked to factional differences within the party.
Before his detention, Anil said the organisers had invited Satheesan to the Chathaya Day celebrations and had made arrangements expecting his presence.
“We had invited the Chief Minister for our programme,” he said.
According to police, a group led by Anil signalled the Chief Minister’s vehicle to stop and he allegedly behaved improperly with Satheesan. The Chief Minister reportedly got out of the vehicle after the convoy was stopped but left without inaugurating the programme.
Security personnel subsequently intervened and moved the protesters aside to clear the route for the convoy.
Police registered a case based on the statement of a Grade Sub-Inspector who was present at the scene. The charges include allegedly obstructing the Chief Minister in the discharge of his official duties, wrongful restraint, insulting behaviour and obstruction of traffic.
The Thiruvananthapuram City Police Commissioner is understood to have intervened following the incident and directed the police to register a case.
Police have maintained that the Chenthi programme was not part of the Chief Minister’s official schedule.
Anil, a prominent Congress figure in the Sreekaryam-Chenthi area and the husband of a former municipal councillor, is also associated with community organisations and serves as a local office-bearer of the SNDP Union.
The programme organisers alleged that Satheesan’s failure to attend the event amounted to an insult to the locality and the celebrations.
Anil later attributed his detention to factionalism within the Congress, adding another political dimension to the incident.
The police action and Congress decision to suspend Anil are expected to further intensify internal tensions within the party in Thiruvananthapuram.
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