Thiruvananthapuram | Senior Congress leaders, including Ramesh Chennithala, on Friday protested against the Left-ruled Thiruvananthapuram corporation over the damage caused to the statue of former Kerala CM R Sankar located at Palayam here.

The damage to the marble plaques on one side of the statue was discovered when the Congress leaders reached there to pay floral tributes to Sankar on his death anniversary.

Chennithala claimed that by damaging the statue, the corporation and the state government are trying to destroy and insult the memory of the former Kerala CM.

He said that the Sankar foundation had erected the statue for which land was given by the Oommen Chandy government.

"It is the corporation and the government which damaged it. We will not let it go. We will carry out a strong protest against this. They (corporation) had no right to enter this area," the Congress leader said.

He and his party colleagues and several Congress workers sat down in front of the statue in protest and shouted slogans against the government and the corporation