VK Prasanth Says BJP Councillor R Sreelekha' Demand to Vacate MLA Office Is Politically Motivated

Thiruvananthapuram: Vattiyoorkavu MLA VK Prasanth has alleged that the demand by BJP councillor R Sreelekha for the MLA office at Sasthamangalam in Thiruvananthapuram to be vacated is politically motivated. He said it was inappropriate to ask an MLA to vacate an office that has been serving the public for the past seven years through a phone call.

Prasanth clarified that the MLA office has been functioning by paying rent fixed by the corporation and that there are established legal procedures for vacating the premises. If the space allotted for the MLA office is to be withdrawn, the council must first revoke its decision, following which the municipal secretary should issue an official notice seeking eviction, he said while speaking to the media.

The MLA pointed out that the municipal building has been used partly as the MLA office and partly as the councillor’s office. He noted that a BJP councillor had used the same office space for five years earlier without raising any objections. He also asserted that the MLA office has the right to function in the building until the rental agreement expires on March 31.

“All elected representatives have the authority and the right to function,” Prasanth said, adding that attempts were being made to introduce here a model similar to the ‘bulldozer raj’ being implemented by the BJP in northern Indian states.

It was recently that councillor R Sreelekha reportedly called the MLA over the phone, demanding that the office be vacated, citing a lack of space for the councillor’s office and the need to take over the MLA office area as well.