Unruly scenes unfolded at the Thiruvananthapuram city Corporation council meeting on Saturday following protest by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillors against Mayor V.K. Prasanth’s decision to disallow a resolution.
A clash that ensued among Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] and BJP activists resulted in the hospitalisation of the Mayor and some councillors. The contentious issue of installing high-mast lights sparked an hour-long debate that led to the confrontation.
BJP parliamentary party leader at the council V.G. Girikumar, who moved a motion, criticised the Mayor’s decision to sent letters to MPs and MLAs, discouraging them from sanctioning funds for installing high-mast lights, which led to huge financial burden on the civic body. Mr. Girikumar demanded a resolution that called for withdrawal of the letters which, he alleged, had been sent without the council’s approval.
The discussions were cut-short by the Mayor, who termed improper the act of moving a resolution to withdraw the letters that had been sent after reaching a consensus on the matter. Taking offence, BJP councillors raised slogans in protest against the move. They obstructed Mr. Prasanth, who headed to his office after the council meeting. This led to a tense situation during which councillors of the BJP and the CPI(M) were engaged in a face-off.
The situation took a turn for the worse when the Mayor fell on the staircase. Despite the intervention of the police, some councillors soon entered into a clash. Mr. Prasanth was rushed to the Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College Hospital where he was admitted at the Critical Care Unit with injuries on his head and leg. CPI(M) councillors Rasiya Beegum, Sindhu and the Mayor’s staff member B. Mohan were also admitted to the hospital. BJP councillors Girikumar, R.C. Beena, Simi Jyothish and M. Lekshmi were injured in the clash and were admitted rushed to the General Hospital.
The confrontation threatened to spill out to the streets as Corporation employees, affiliated to the pro-CPI(M) organisation Kerala Municipality and Corporation Staff Union (KMCSU), protested against the ‘alleged manhandling’ of the Mayor and destroyed flex boards and party flags erected by the BJP on the Corporation office premises. With the union staging a sit-in at the verandah, councillors and activists of the BJP followed suit and began their demonstration near the main gate. A large posse of police, led by Deputy Commissioner of Police G. Jaidev and Assistant Commissioner (Cantonment) D.S. Suneesh Babu, were deployed to prevent any further flare-up.
Earlier, the deliberations witnessed councillors of the BJP and the United Democratic Front (UDF) displaying a rare show of unity as they lashed out at the Mayor’s “unilateral move” and claimed that there were several areas within the city limits that were in dire need of high-mast lights.
Lack of streetlights along the Karamana- Pravachambalam stretch, which is reported to have resulted in 33 deaths since its widening, was cited as an example. On the other hand, LDF councillors claimed that streetlights were often sponsored by certain people’s representatives as a ‘publicity gimmick’ with many being installed at unsuitable locations in an unscientific manner.
