With a few months left for the local body polls, the political debate in Maradu municipality where four illegal apartment complexes were recently demolished, is revolving around the permission given for the illegal structures.
The Congress Mandalam Committee will stage a march to the Crime Branch office here on Tuesday demanding action against K.A. Devassy, former president of Maradu panchayat, holding him responsible for the fiasco.
It was during the tenure Mr. Devassy as the president of the panchayat that the local body gave permission for the illegal structures. Though the Crime Branch, which is investigating the case, had questioned a large number of both the LDF and the UDF councillors, it has not even summoned Mr. Devassy, said R.K. Sureshbabu, secretary of the District Congress Committee.
As many as 350 families lost their homes when the Supreme Court ordered the demolition of the four illegal apartment complexes. The State government lost a significant amount in the case as it had to demolish the buildings and pay compensation to the apartment owners who lost their homes. Yet, the investigation agency was not even questioning the person who headed the panchayat during the period when the permission was granted for the illegal buildings. The Congress would raise the issue during the upcoming elections, Mr. Sureshbabu said.
Boban Nedumparambil, vice president of the Maradu municipality, said the State government was shielding Mr. Devassy in the case. The government was yet to clear the request of the investigating agency for questioning Mr. Devassy, he alleged.
At the same time, P. Vasudevan, Thripunithura area secretary of the CPI(M), said the campaign against Mr. Devassy was a politically motivated one. The Congress was targeting him as its earlier campaigns failed to convince people. The Congress was trying to create confusion among the people by raising baseless allegations, he said.
Despite the repeated attempts, Mr. Devassy was not available for comments.
