Kerala MLA says councillor asked him to vacate civic body building after BJP takeover

A Communist Party of India (Marxist) MLA on Sunday (December 28) alleged that he was asked by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor to vacate his office at the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation building after the BJP came to power in the state capital.

MLA flags phone call from councillor

VK Prasanth, the MLA from Vattiyoorkavu, told reporters that councillor R Sreelekha contacted him over the phone and asked him to vacate his office in the Corporation’s building at Sasthamangalam.

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Sreelekha, a retired Director General of Police, won the recent local body election on a BJP ticket. The BJP currently controls the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, having secured 50 of the 101 divisions in the city.

Claim of inadequate facilities

“She contacted me asking to vacate my office. She said the councillor’s office in the same building does not have adequate facilities and that she wants to occupy the space currently used by the MLA,” Prasanth said.

He added that his MLA office has been functioning in the building for the past seven years and noted that earlier a BJP councillor had also used a portion of the same building as an office.

Allotment made through official process

“When I was the Mayor of Thiruvananthapuram, a decision was taken to allow office space for ward councillors. After becoming MLA, I submitted an application to the Corporation and the space was allotted on rent,” he said.

Prasanth maintained that the procedure requires the Corporation Secretary to issue an eviction notice.

“Here, a councillor is directly calling an MLA and demanding eviction. This is like handling things the way it is done in a police station,” he alleged.

‘Bulldozer Raj’ charge

The MLA likened the move to “Bulldozer Raj”, claiming that policies adopted by the BJP in some North Indian states were being replicated in Thiruvananthapuram.

Responding to a query on whether his office had occupied space meant for the ward councillor, Prasanth admitted that some additional space was being used due to the large number of people visiting his office.

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“The councillor’s office is functioning there and a name board has been installed in front of the room. Councillors rarely use the space and mostly function from the Corporation office,” he said.

Tenure till March 2026

“If the councillor has any complaint, it can be examined. We have the right to function in the allotted space until the agreement period expires,” Prasanth said.

He added that the office has been allotted to him till March 31, 2026, and that he has applied for an extension till the end of the current Assembly term in May next year.

Prasanth said he does not believe the councillor acted independently. “She may have consulted others before contacting me. I informed her that the space has been allotted till March next year and cannot be vacated before that. If they want immediate eviction, they can take legal steps and we will face it legally,” he said.

Meanwhile, there was no immediate reaction from the BJP or from Sreelekha.

(With agency inputs)