Leave to jailed BJP councillor continues to roil Thiruvananthapuram Corporation council

Leave to jailed BJP councillor continues to roil Thiruvananthapuram Corporation council Published – August 19, 2026 09: 06 pm IST – THIRUVANANTHAPURAM.

Key points

• The Home Department afterwards withdrew the letter dated July 20 and signed by an under secretary on behalf of the Further Chief Secretary.
• The leave granted to jailed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor R.Sugathan continues to roil the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation council.
• As the letter stands withdrawn, the Opposition argued that Mayor's decision to grant leave additionally no longer holds.
• The council session shortly concluded within thirty minutes like recent council meetings even as the Opposition continued to raise the problem of the jailed councillor.
• The Mayor is running the council in an undemocratic manner.

Notably, the leave granted to jailed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor R.Sugathan continues to roil the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation council.

At a special council session convened on Wednesday to approve spillover projects, the Opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) resisted the sanctioning of leave as shortly as Mayor V.V.Rajesh read out the list of absentees. Mr.Sugathan was arrested under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act (KAAPA) and is at present lodged at the high-security correctional facility at Viyyur Central Prison in Thrissur in Kerala.

With the Home department withdrawing a letter that enabled the Mayor to grant six months leave to jailed Mr.Sugathan in the last council session on July 31, the Opposition has questioned the validity of the council decision. The Home Department afterwards withdrew the letter dated July 20 and signed by an under secretary on behalf of the Further Chief Secretary. It was sent to Mr. Sugathan in response to his request for an escort parole to take part in the council session on July 31.

As the letter stands withdrawn, the Opposition argued that Mayor's decision to grant leave additionally no longer holds. LDF Parliamentary Party leader S.P.Deepak remarked that the LDF has already approached the Corporation Secretary and the State Election Commission pointing out the illegality of granting leave.

"The Mayor is running the council in an undemocratic manner. The minutes of the council session are not provided on time and even when they are provided, the events are recorded wrongly. While the visuals clearly show that the Mayor asked the microphone operators to cut off our microphones, " he stated, for instance, in the minutes of the last council session, it is written that the Mayor sought the opinion of the Opposition.

Even as the other LDF councillors attempted to raise the matter of the jailed councillor, the Mayor stated that only opinions related to the agenda items be raised. In a replay of the previous session, the Mayor directed the microphone operators to provide the microphone only to those who are responding to the agenda items.

According to Congress councillor Thampanoor Harikumar, the council meetings are held hardly once in a month now and the hundreds of pages of agenda items are provided only at the last minute, leaving the councillors no time to study and raise matters. He remarked that the copy of the council gathering minutes are not provided even when demanded.

According to When Mayor Rajesh, he was not provided the minutes when he was the councillor in the last five years, LDF councillor Shajitha Nazar stated that Mr.Rajesh took part in hardly three council meetings when he was a councillor.

Notably, the council session shortly concluded within thirty minutes like recent council meetings even as the Opposition continued to raise the problem of the jailed councillor. Afterwards, the LDF unveiled that it will boycott the official Onam celebrations of the Corporation in protest against the undemocratic attitude of the Mayor.

For now, leave to jailed BJP councillor continues to roil Thiruvananthapuram Corporation council remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.