BJP workers lay siege to govt secretariat

Hundreds of BJP workers on Monday converged in front of the Secretariat here and staged a protest demanding immediate resignation of Transport Minister Thomas Chandy, who is facing allegations of land encroachment for a luxury lake resort owned by him in Alappuzha district.

The protesters began assembling in front of three gates of the secretariat since 6  am and raised slogans against the minister.

The Secretariat houses offices of ministers and bureaucrats. Only the Cantonment gate was spared by the protesters to enable ministers and staff to enter the premises.

The agitators drawn from four districts of Kollam, Alappuzha, Pathnamthitta and Thiruvananthapuram, also wanted action against the Congress leaders named in the judicial commission report on the solar scam.

Inaugurating the protest, BJP state president, Kummanam Rajasekharan said there was no question of any compromise on the demand for Chandy's resignation.

General secretary, A N Radhakrishnan said the party would launch a series of agitations on the Chandy issue. "Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan should seek Chandy's resignation," he said.