New twist to dispute over office space between CPM MLA and BJP councillor

The row that has erupted in Kerala’s capital over a dispute between Sasthamangalam ward councillor R Sreelekha (BJP), and Vattiyoorkavu MLA VK Prasanth (CPM) over the office space in the city Corporation building, took a fresh turn on Monday with Congress councilor K Sabarinathan demanding that the legislator should move to the MLA hostel for the remainder of the Assembly term.

In a Facebook post on Monday, K S Sabarinathan, who was a former MLA, said the Corporation should decide on the issue of the MLA’s office being operated in the municipality office in Sasthamangalam ward, including the rent amount, by examining the agreement between the municipality and Prashanth

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He said most MLAs in Kerala have their offices in rented buildings in their constituencies. “That’s how I was, when I was a representative of the people of Aryanad, and worked in a rented room on a monthly rent basis,” Sabarinathan said.

“But Shri VK Prashanth is lucky. The MLA hostel of the assembly is in the Vattiyoorkavu constituency that he represents. The hostel in the heart of the city has good rooms, computer facilities, car parking and all the facilities. When I inquired, two office rooms, number 31 and 32, in the Nila block of the MLA hostel, have been allotted in your name,” he said in the post, asking, “When the government is providing the MLA hostel with all these facilities free of cost, why are you leaving it and sitting in this room in Sasthamangalam.”

Sreelekha, a former Director General of Police (DGP) who was recently elected as the councillor for the Sasthamangalam ward of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, the other day requested Prasanth to vacate his office, citing insufficient space for her own councillor’s office and associated health circle office functions. She stated that it was a “humble request” due to space constraints, not a personal or political attack.

V K Prasanth, the former Mayor of Thiruvananthapuram, refused to vacate the office. He said his MLA office has been functioning in the building for seven years, serving thousands of people, and that the space was allocated as per a previous council decision. He alleged that Sreelekha’s demand was politically motivated and likened the move to the “Bulldozer Raj” tactics used by the BJP in some northern Indian states. He also noted that he pays the fixed rent and has an agreement until March 31.