'Bulldozer Raj': CPI-M MLA says BJP councillor asked him to vacate office in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation
'Bulldozer Raj': CPI-M MLA says BJP councillor asked him to vacate office in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation
Thiruvananthapuram:
A row erupted in Kerala on Sunday after Communist Party of India (Marxist) MLA VK Prasanth alleged that he was asked by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor R Sreelekha to vacate his office at the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation building, days after the saffron party's victory in the local body elections in the state. Speaking to reporters, Prasanth said Sreelakha contacted him over the phone, asking him to vacate his office inside the building in Sasthamangalam.
The BJP had registered a historic victory in the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation elections after winning 50 of the 101 wards in the state capital. Sreelekha, who was Kerala's first woman Director General of Police (DGP), won on a BJP ticket.
"She contacted me asking to vacate my office. She said the councillor’s office in the same building does not have adequate facilities and that she wants to occupy the space currently used by the MLA," Prasanth said. "When I was the Mayor of Thiruvananthapuram, a decision was taken to allow office space for ward councillors. After becoming MLA, I submitted an application to the Corporation and the space was allotted on rent."
Prasanth is a member of Kerala Legislative Assembly from the Vattiyoorkavu constituency. According to the CPI-M MLA, he has been using that office for the past seven years. Noting that a BJP councillor had also used that portion as office in the past, Prasanth said the correct procedure requires proper eviction notice.
"Here, a councillor is directly calling an MLA and demanding eviction. This is like handling things the way it is done in a police station," he said, likening the incident to 'Bulldozer Raj'.
There has been no response from the BJP or Sreelekha so far. Meanwhile, days after BJP's historic victory in Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation, saffron party's VV Rajesh on Friday was elected as the city's mayor. Rajesh represents the Kodunganoor ward councillor and he became the mayor, securing support of 50 BJP councillors and an independent.
After becoming BJP's first mayor in the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation, Rajesh said he will ensure the development of all 101 wards in the state capital and transformed it as India's most developed city.
