Wayanad witnessed strong protests by Congress workers including the burning of PM Modi's effigy a day after Rahul Gandhi, who represented the constituency, was disqualified as an MP following his conviction over the 'Modi surname' remark in 2019.
Congress leaders, including MLA T Siddique, were part of the protest march to the office of BSNL in Kalpetta in Wayanad and were removed by force by the police from the site. Several Youth Congress (YC) and KSU leaders were also arrested and removed from the protest site.
The leaders and workers of the party and its youth and student wings, after marching to the BSNL office had sat down on the road in front of it, which led to the blocking of traffic movement, according to visuals aired on TV channels.
Some youth workers of the party were also seen climbing over police barricades into the BSNL office compound, news agency PTI reported.
As the Congress, YC and KSU leaders and workers were being hauled away, they kept shouting slogans like 'INC zindabad'.
The party would also hold a protest march to the Kerala Raj Bhavan on March 27, he said.
A Surat court found Gandhi guilty on Wednesday and gave him a two-year jail sentence in connection with a criminal defamation case from 2019 over his comments about the "Modi surname."
The Lok Sabha Secretariat announced in a statement the next day that his disqualification went into effect from March 23 — the day of his conviction.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra MLAs belonging to the Maharashtra Maha Vikash Aghadi (MVA) alliance staged a silent protest on Saturday outside the state assembly over Gandhi's disqualification.
Congress also held a protest in Maharashtra's Thane city against Rahul Gandhi's conviction and his disqualification as an MP, while the BJP and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena held separate demonstrations over his remark that allegedly hurt the sentiments of the Other Backward Class (OBC).