The combined protest committee of employees at the Kozhikode Corporation began an indefinite strike on Wednesday demanding that the Corporation revoke the suspension of four employees in connection with the Sanchaya scam.
The committee had postponed its protest, which was scheduled for Monday, to Wednesday on the Mayor’s request to wait till the Corporation Additional Secretary submitted the internal investigation report. However, the committee decided to go ahead with the strike on Wednesday in the absence of the report.
“We will try our best not to cause any trouble to the public as we protest peacefully. But if the authorities did not pay heed to us for a long time, the mode of protest may change,” said T. Anil Kumar, district president of Kerala Municipal and Corporation Staff Union, which is one of the constituent organisations of the protest committee.
At present, officials are taking turns to be in the protest pavilion in front of the Corporation office, with only 20 of them on leave at a time. The front desk and other major sections where the public can have direct interaction with officials have been spared.
The committee pointed out that the four officials who were suspended even before the internal inquiry began had been victims and whistleblowers in the case. “None of them was among those arrested by the police recently in connection with the case. After a few days, we may extent the protest to other places or even bring employees from other districts to Kozhikode to be part of the agitation. We are not ready for any compromise other than revoking the suspension of the officials,” said K. Madhusoodhanan, a member of the protest committee.
The committee alleged that the Corporation Secretary was trying to hide her failure through suspension officials, and hence, she should step aside to facilitate further investigation. Interestingly, the same point is being raised by the UDF parliamentary party, which alleged that the Mayor was more interested in protecting the Secretary. The UDF is planning a massive protest on Thursday.
