Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], February 24 (ANI): Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal on Tuesday slammed the Central government over the arrest of Indian Youth Congress (IYC) Uday Bhanu Chib, alleging that the government was attempting to silence voices raised for the public and farmers.

Speaking to reporters here, Venugopal said, 'Those who are agitating for the people, those who are raising the voice of the common people, those who are raising the voice of the farmers. The government is not hearing them. The Prime Minister is not ready to hear them. The Prime Minister is not ready to hear the voice of the leader of the opposition in the parliament. The most unfortunate thing is happening in the national capital. We will fight it out completely, we will be fighting out for the common cause for this country.'

The remarks come after the Patiala House Court on Tuesday granted four-day custody of the Indian Youth Congress President, Uday Bhanu Chib, to the Delhi Police in connection with the AI Summit Protest case. The police said that Chib was the mastermind of the protest carried out by the four co-accused, who are also in police custody. This case involves national security, sovereignty and the integrity of the country.

The police had earlier sought seven days' custody of the IYC President. Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) granted the four-day custody after hearing the submissions of Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) and counsel for the accused Chib.

'In view of the above discussion, the application of the IO is partly allowed. The accused Uday Bhanu Chib is remanded to police custody for a period of four (4) days commencing from today till 28.02.2026 (inclusive). On expiry of the said period, the IO shall produce the accused before the concerned court or the concerned Duty Magistrate, along with a detailed remand report,' JMFC Ravi ordered.

The court said that in the facts of the present case, considering the nature of offences alleged and the request for police custody, it would be appropriate to expressly record the right of the accused to meet his counsel during interrogation without hampering the legitimate needs of investigation. While seeking the remand, Delhi police said that Chib was the person who hatched the alleged 'conspiracy.'

APP Atul Shrivastav submitted that Chib provided the logistics to protestors and that he was to be interrogated to identify other accused at Jammu, Amethi and other places. Senior advocate Sanjoy Ghosh and advocates Subhash Gulati and Rupesh Singh Bhadauria appeared for the IYC President. While opposing the remand prayer, Ghosh said that he was not on the run and was still in Delhi. Ghosh added that the police, who are recovering the T-Shirts, have made the entire system a laughing stock.

Meanwhile, Venugopal also hit out at the upcoming film 'The Kerala Story 2', accusing its makers of attempting to create division. He said, 'The Kerala story is the harmony of people in this state. Whether Hindu, Muslim, Christian, or Sikh. Your agenda is to create hatred. Your agenda is to create division among the people of this state, which is never going to happen at all. You can make thousands of films because the censor board is with you now. You can make Kerala ugly in the films. But the mind of the Kerala people you cannot touch at all.' (ANI)