Kerala Health Minister Veena George sustained injuries in her neck and hand during a protest staged by the activists of Kerala Students Union (KSU), the student wing of the Congress, at the Kannur railway station on Wednesday.
The incident occurred near the ticket counter on the first platform of the railway station when the Minister arrived to board the Vande Bharat Express, after attending the International Ayurveda Research Center (IARC) in Kannur’s Kalliad. As the protest intensified at the station premises, tensions escalated, leading to a scuffle during which the Minister was reportedly injured in her neck and hand. She was later shifted to the Kannur District Hospital for treatment. Following the incident, her journey was cancelled.
Police personnel present at the scene swiftly intervened and arrested the KSU workers involved in the protest, removing them from the railway station premises.
Veena George has been facing protests by the Opposition for the past one week over alleged lapses in the state’s Health Department following a medical negligence controversy in Alappuzha
In Kannur, demonstrations against the Minister were reported from several locations, including Irikkur, Payyavoor, Chalode, and Thalassery on Wednesday. KSU activists gathered along roadsides and public places where the minister was scheduled to pass, raising slogans and waving black flags to express their opposition
Condemning the attack on Veena George, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said it shows the Congress’s vile politics. He alleged that what happened there was not a mere protest but a ruse by a group of assailants.
Kerala Assembly Speaker A N Shamseer, who was present at the railway station at the time of the incident, said the attack on the health minister was condemnable and that the UDF leadership should reject the protesters.