BJP State general secretary M.T. Ramesh on Thursday accused Mayor Beena Philip of playing hide-and-seek in the building number scam without revealing the status of the case to the public for suspicious reasons.
Opening the BJP councillors’ day-night protest against alleged attempts to scuttle investigation into the case, Mr. Ramesh alleged that the Mayor was, in fact, the first accused in the case, and that she was trying to fool the people by being tight-lipped. “If the Mayor does not have the freedom to speak out because of political reasons, she should at least reveal that to the public for the sake of transparency,” he said.
According to Mr. Ramesh, the reinstatement of Corporation officials, who had been placed under suspension in connection with the case, was done without following legal procedures and securing the clearance of the Corporation council. “It is natural if someone finds fault with the Mayor for such doubtful actions,” he said.
Coming down on the Congress party for its alleged failure to question the actions of the civic body, the BJP leader said both the Congress and the CPI(M) were trying to be partners in the illicit deal. “The Congress staged only nominal protests to hoodwink the public. They are yet to raise it strongly in the Assembly with the same vigour they have shown in the case of the building number scam in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation,” he said.
BJP councillor and Mahila Morcha State general secretary Navya Haridas chaired the protest. BJP district general secretary M. Mohanan and Bharatiya Yuva Morcha district president R. Raneesh spoke.
