Congress MPs from Kerala protesting K-Rail project 'manhandled' by Delhi Police

Congress MPs from Kerala were allegedly manhandled and assaulted by the Delhi Police at Vijay Chowk as they were marching towards Parliament to protest the Kerala government’s insistence on SilverLine K-Rail in the state.

Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden was allegedly slapped by the police, Kollam MP NK Premachandran, Chalakudy MP Benny Behanan, Idukki MP Dean Kuriakose, Vadakkara MP K Muraleedharan and Mavelikara MP Kodikunnil Suresh were caught in the scuffle with the police. Male policemen shoved and pushed around Alathur MP Ramya Haridas. Amid the scuffle, Palakkad MP VK Sreekandan and Hibi Eden were heard asking police personnel why they were stopping MPs from going to Parliament.

The political controversy surrounding SilverLine K-Rail reverberated in Delhi as the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly to discuss the project.

Watch the video below.

Despite videos of the MPs being shoved being aired, the Delhi police denied manhandling the MPs. The police claimed that they didn’t know who these people were though all the MPs can be seen informing the police that they were Members of Parliament. “A few people came to the North Fountain barricades point from the media lawn shouting in Malayalam. They were stopped by the staff at the barricades. They claimed to be MPs and continued shouting. They were asked to show their ID cards, which they denied. Meanwhile, staff from the security picket at Gate No 1 of Parliament was called to identify the MPs. The staff came and identified them, and they were then allowed to go forward,” said Suman Nalwa, Delhi Police PRO.

In several videos of the incident, MPs can be seen reiterating that they were MPs, but the police barricaded the road and stopped them from going to Parliament.

A visibly upset Vadakkara MP K Muraleedharan asked how the police dared to stop MPs from going to Parliament. “We have been elected to represent the voice of the people. We were protesting peacefully and the police turned it into a violent march. How can the male policemen attack a female MP?” questioned Muraleedharan. He undercored that the police began the scuffle and pointed out that the police both in Kerala and Delhi were assaulting people.

In Lok Sabha, the MPs approached Speaker Om Birla for action against the police. RSP MP NK Premachandran said in the House it was a matter of privilege as the MPs were assaulted and attacked by the police though it was communicated to them that they were members of Parliament. “What’s the authority of the Delhi Police to block us MPs at the gate of Parliament House? They even entered the premises of Parliament,” underlined Premachandran.

While tweeting a video of the incident, Rajya Sabha MP KC Venugopal asserted that “the preposterous misuse of state power to silence our nation’s democratic voice is unacceptable”. “While the CPIM destroys Kerala's future through its Silver-line project & bulldozes the people's voice of protest, BJP's diktat has led to manhandling of MPs by Delhi Police,” he wrote.