BJP councillor takes oath in jail, but party still faces uncertainty in Thiruvananthapuram corporation

Thiruvananthapuram: In an unprecedented move, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor R. Sugathan from Vazhottukonam retook his oath Tuesday inside the Viyyur Central Prison in Thrissur.

This was after the Kerala High Court allowed the ceremony to be conducted in jail helping the party prevent an immediate threat to its majority in the Thiruvananthapuram corporation.

Detained under a preventive detention order issued under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act (KAAPA), 2007, Sugathan was required to retake his oath after the High Court last month declared his earlier oath invalid for taking it in the name of Sree Narayana Guru (‘Gurudeva Namathil’), instead of in the prescribed statutory form.

The ceremony, held under tight security, lasted less than 15 minutes. Sugathan was brought to the venue, allowed to change into a fresh set of clothes, and escorted back to his cell immediately after retaking the oath ‘in the name of god’ this time.

Along with the Vazhottukonam councillor, the High Court also nullified the oaths of 19 others for taking them in the names of different deities and martyrs, giving them four weeks to retake the ceremony. While others retook the oath within hours of the judgment, Sugathan’s imprisonment threw the BJP administration in the Corporation, the first it won in Kerala, into uncertainty.

The BJP has 50 councillors in the 101-member Thiruvananthapuram Corporation and enjoys a working majority with the support of one Independent councillor,  taking its effective strength to 51. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) has 29 councillors and the backing of another Independent, while the United Democratic Front (UDF) has 20.

If Sugathan is disqualified, the Vazhottukonam ward will go to a by-election. A defeat for the BJP there could leave the party without a majority, making it vulnerable to a no-confidence motion.

However, Tuesday’s ceremony has not completely averted the crisis for the party.

Though the BJP managed to avert an immediate crisis, uncertainty still looms as the councillor has already missed two consecutive council meetings in May and June. While the BJP claims Sugathan attended the meeting held in April, both the Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) have alleged that he merely signed the attendance register without actually attending the proceedings.

Under the Kerala Municipality Act, councillors can be disqualified if they remain absent without permission for three consecutive council meetings or for three consecutive months. The June council meeting saw scuffles between BJP and Congress councillors, with the latter accusing the ruling party of tampering with the attendance register to protect Sugathan from disqualification.

Sugathan was arrested in June in connection with an attempt-to-murder case linked to a clash during a temple festival in March. The state government has also stated that Sugathan is an accused in seven criminal cases, including three attempt-to-murder cases, paving the way for his preventive detention under the KAAPA.

Under the Act, authorities can order preventive detention against a person who fits the statutory criteria of a “known rowdy” based on involvement in multiple specified offences.

The councillor approached the court soon after the High Court judgment necessitated the retaking of his oath. While a Thiruvananthapuram court granted him one day’s interim bail in the criminal cases, permission from the High Court was necessary.

On Monday, the High Court said it was unable to grant bail to Sugathan as he was under preventive detention, a stand taken by the state government, but took into consideration that the BJP would lose its majority if he was disqualified, leading to an administrative crisis.

The state government opposed granting of bail but informed the court that it was willing to facilitate the oath-taking ceremony inside the prison.

“I am of the considered opinion that this is a fit case in which the petitioner should be allowed to take the oath inside the jail. The second respondent and the minimum required officers can be allowed to visit the Central Prison, Viyyur, where the petitioner is detained, and the petitioner can be allowed to take the oath,” Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan said.

Soon after Tuesday’s ceremony, Thiruvananthapuram Mayor V.V. Rajesh said his party had expected retaliatory actions from the CPI(M) after wresting control of the Corporation.

“Those of us working in politics are accused in many cases, but the decision is up to the court. We knew we would face opposition from the CPI(M) when we won the Corporation itself,” Rajesh said, adding that he had personally been looking after the Vazhottukonam ward represented by Sugathan in his absence to ensure that residents did not face any difficulties.

(Edited by Niyati Kothiyal)

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