Thiruvananthapuram: The Thiruvananthapuram Corporation Council descended into chaos on Monday after a demand by the Opposition for the resignation of BJP councillor R. Sugathan, who is currently in judicial custody under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act (KAAPA), triggered violent scenes, physical scuffles and unprecedented disruption of the council proceedings.
The flashpoint was a dispute over the attendance register.
The Left and the Congress-led UDF alleged that the register had been set aside to enable Sugathan, who is lodged in jail under the preventive detention law, to sign it later.
As UDF councillors attempted to sign the register, BJP members allegedly snatched it away, leading to a heated confrontation.
Opposition members also alleged that attempts were made to tear the register during the ensuing melee.
The verbal exchanges quickly escalated into pushing and shoving between councillors of the BJP, LDF, and UDF, bringing the council meeting to a standstill.
Amid the uproar, LDF council party leader S.P. Deepak demanded that the issue of Sugathan’s resignation be taken up as an urgent agenda item, arguing that a councillor detained under the KAAPA Act could not continue in office without inviting public criticism.
UDF councillors intensified their protest by raising slogans, displaying placards and entering the well of the House.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, UDF councillor K.S. Sabarinath alleged that BJP councillor Chempazhanthy Udayan physically assaulted several Opposition members, including women councillors, during the confrontation.
Despite the sustained protests, the BJP-led administration proceeded with the council business and hurriedly cleared the listed agenda before adjourning the meeting.
The UDF and LDF, however, rejected the validity of the proceedings, accusing the ruling side of riding roughshod over democratic conventions.
With tensions running high following protests at the Corporation office a day earlier, in which some LDF councillors were injured, heavy police deployment had been made in and around the Corporation premises to prevent the situation from spiralling further.
(IANS)
