The Kerala assembly bore witness to “interesting” scenes on Wednesday after a Congress MLA decided to bring a grenade with him:
https://twitter.com/IndiaTodayFLASH/status/971324709404069889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
As per an ANI tweet, the leader in question Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, who is a Congress MLA from Kottayam brought a used grenade and showed to the assembly speaker. While showing it he claimed that the grenades which were used by the police to disperse Youth Congress protesters sometime last week were beyond their expiry date.
Radhakrishnan is a senior state Congress leader, with him holding important portfolios like Transport, Sports and even the Home Ministry during the erstwhile Oommen Chandy government.
It isn’t yet clear as to why did the security not object to him bringing in a grenade, regardless of it being used.
This crazy incident predictably drew out reactions:
https://twitter.com/JMehta65/status/971326864013881344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/Alllahdin/status/971328355172847617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/MukulAgarwal66/status/971328951783251968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The practice of politicians entering assembly premises with armaments is nothing new. Just this Monday Manoj Nyangli a BSP MLA from Rajasthan entered the assembly with a pistol and even participated in the proceedings for about two hours while having it in his possession.
He was only caught in this act while answering the media’s questions after leaving the premises. There the pistol was supposedly dangling from his waist when it was captured on camera. After being confronted about it he claimed that he brought it by mistake.
Editor’s note: ANI has since then come up with an update that the Congress MLA actually carried a “used tear gas shell” in the assembly:
https://twitter.com/ANI/status/971335481031122944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The headline has been edited to reflect the change.