DYFI lays siege to Secretariat

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The activists of Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) laid siege to the Secretariat here and District Collectorates on Thursday in protest against the government move to raise the retirement age of its employees.Opposition Deputy Leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan inaugurated the Secretariat dharna. Kodiyeri urged the government to withdraw from the move to raise the retirement age of government employees.He also alleged that the UDF Government had effected a ban on PSC appointments.DYFI district president B Biju presided over the meeting. CPM district secretary Kadakampally Surendran, M Vijayakumar, V Sivankutty MLA, Aanavoor Nagappan, K S Sunil Kumar, K C Vikraman, S S Rajalal, M M Basheer, P Rajendrakumar and Meenambika addressed the protestors. V K Madhu inaugurated the valedictory meeting.The DYFI workers blocked all gates of the Secretariat except the Cantonment Gate where the protestors’ move was foiled by the police. A large posse of policemen camped near the Secretariat to prevent any untoward incident. The police arrested around 50 protestors who blocked traffic at Bakery Junction.