Water cannons used as SFI, DYFI protest demanding CEC's resignation turns tense in Thiruvananthapuram

Police used water cannons several times to disperse protesters marching towards Lok Bhavan here on Friday, as a demonstration by the Students' Federation of India (SFI) and the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar turned tense, officials said.

More than 200 activists from the two Left organisations took part in the march, protesting the controversy surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, police said.

Anticipating trouble, police erected barricades at a distance from Lok Bhavan, the Governor's official residence, and deployed water cannon vehicles and riot control units.

Police resorted to using water cannons after protesters attempted to scale the barricades. As the demonstration continued, the police used them several more times, officials said.

The protesters alleged that water cannons were also used when CPI(M) leader M V Jayarajan arrived at the site to address them.

DYFI state secretary M Vijin alleged that police used water cannons unnecessarily despite the demonstration being peaceful and Jayarajan being present.

Questioning the electoral process, Vijin claimed that the SIR exercise had raised doubts about the legitimacy of the UDF government's victory in Keralam, alleging that several voters had lost their voting rights during the revision.

He also accused Chief Minister V D Satheesan of governing the state on behalf of the BJP and the RSS.

Vijin said similar protests would be organised across Keralam in the coming days.