Opposition parties continue protests demanding resignation of Mayor over letter issue

Satheesan says thousands of backdoor appointments are being made in public sector units, local bodies and the Congress will expose them

For the fifth consecutive day, the Thiruvananthapuram city Corporation office was roiled by protests, with both the Opposition parties — the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress — staging separate protests demanding the resignation of Mayor Arya Rajendran, over the alleged letter in her name to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] district secretary Anavoor Nagappan asking him for a ‘priority list’ of applicants for temporary posts in the health wing of the city Corporation.

The BJP councillors continued to occupy the corridors of the Corporation and blocked the way to the Mayor’s room. However, the Mayor, expecting the protests, had reached her office early in the day under police protection.

Mahila Morcha activists, who took out a protest march, attempted to scale the walls and enter the Corporation office, leading to scuffles with the police personnel. Water cannon had to be employed to disperse the protesters.

The Congress’s indefinite protest in front of the Corporation office demanding the Mayor’s resignation entered the second day.

Addressing the protest meeting, Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan accused Mr. Nagappan of playing the role of an employment exchange head. He said that the issue was not limited to the Corporation, as thousands of backdoor appointments were being made in public sector units and local bodies, all of which the Congress would expose in the coming days.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president K. Sudhakaran said that the Congress would consider putting an end to the protests if the Mayor apologised. However, Mr. Satheesan later clarified that the collective stand of the party was that the Mayor should resign.

Meanwhile, the Crime Branch investigation into the complaint filed by the Mayor to trace the origins of the letter in her name is progressing. The police are, however, yet to identify any suspects.