Councillor vs MLA: Sreelekha wants office vacated, Prasanth says no
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A phone call by newly-elected Sasthamangalam councillor R Sreelekha on Saturday evening to Vattiyoorkavu MLA V K Prasanth, requesting him to vacate the MLA office functioning in the Sasthamangalam office building of the Thiruvananthapuram corporation kicked off a political storm on Sunday. The issue spilled into the public domain in the morning when former Thiruvananthapuram mayor Prasanth reached the corporation building to clarify his stand, drawing a large number of media persons and the public to the spot. Both the MLAs office and the councillors office operate on the ground floor. Sreelekha had cited space constraints in the councillors office as the reason for her request. However, Prasanth made it clear he had no plans to vacate. All facilities required for a councillors office have been provided here. It is a building with two gates and all necessary amenities. For over seven years, the offices of the councillor and the MLA have been functioning here, and such an issue was never raised earlier, Prasanth told reporters. Questioning the timing of the request, the MLA asked, Why is there a demand to vacate now? Is it fair for a councillor to ask an MLA to move out citing inadequate facilities? He said he had a valid rent tenure for the office until March 31 and that a request had already been submitted to the corporation seeking renewal. If the corporation decides to evict me, I will challenge it legally. I cannot accept a request that violates my rights as a tenant, he said. Shortly after, Sreelekha arrived on the premises and explained her position. This is a building belonging to the Thiruvananthapuram corporation and is meant for the functioning of the zonal office and the councillors office. To my knowledge, there is no formal agreement permitting the MLAs office to function here, she said. Cant accept unjust request, says Prasanth Stressing that Prasanth was like a brother to her, the former DGP said, Based on our long-standing friendship, I only asked whether there was any possibility of vacating the place as my office faces space constraints. This should not have been turned into a controversy, she said. She said files and an almirah of the councillors office were kept inside a toilet due to lack of space. Sreelekha then briefly entered Prasanths office and said she harboured no animosity towards anyone, only goodwill. Prasanth, however, reiterated that while he bore no personal ill will, he could not accept an unjust request. As criticism mounted over the issue being raised without prior discussion within the party or the council, Mayor V V Rajesh also addressed the media. Sreelekha and Prasanth have been friends for many years. She only raised the issue based on that rapport. There was no need to politicise it to this extent, the mayor said. Even as General Education Minister V Sivankutty claimed that Sreelekhas demand was politically motivated, sources said many in the Left camp suspect that a broader political strategy could be at play, amid speculation that the BJP may field Sreelekha against Prasanth in the Vattiyoorkavu assembly constituency. Meanwhile, in a statement, BJP Thiruvananthapuram district president Karamana Jayan alleged that Prasanths attempt to politicise a personal conversation and convert it into a controversy was driven by his fear of an impending defeat in Vattiyoorkavu. Jayan also said the party would seek a review of all corporation buildings leased out at nominal rent, adding that changes would be made to the existing system, under which the city corporation was incurring substantial revenue losses due to low rentals.
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