Kerala - Kottayam   

Kottayam municipal council in limbo

KOTTAYAM: Even as the municipal administration is functioning as usual with the acting chairman at the helm, the confusion over the election of a new chairperson for the Kottayam municipality continues.

The municipal administration was pushed into a limbo following the disqualification of the then chairperson Reeba Varkey and three of her followers.

They were disqualified on the complaint made by the Congress on the basis of the Anti-Defection Law. With four members remaining disqualified, the 38-member council now has an active membership of 34.

Out of the 34, the Congress has 16, CPI(M) 14, CPI two. The NCP has one while another member is Independent. It is this complex situation that has resulted in the current imbroglio, since the two single members hold the key to the election of a new chairperson.

The Congress has already called a meeting of its councillors, who according to DCC president K.C. Joseph, were unanimous in ruling out any scope for horse trading. The Congress is not ready to part with the vice-chairman post, he said. He would like the two members join hands with the Congress as they were elected opposing the LDF in the last local bodies elections.

In the LDF camp too, the vice-chairman’s post has become a bone of contention with CPI and the two single members evincing interest in the post.

Meanwhile, the four disqualified persons have not made up their mind whether they should seek legal redress for their grievance.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Doctors resent government order
Lorry strike called off
Kottayam municipal council in limbo

Copyright © 2009, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu