KOCHI: The president of the Twenty20-ruled Kunnathunad panchayat, Nithamol M V, was ousted from office on Tuesday after a no-confidence motion was passed against her. Nithamol, who was at loggerheads with the party for several months, was removed when 10 out of 11 Twenty20 members voted in favour of the motion, while she abstained from voting.
Although five UDF members were present at the meeting, they did not participate in the voting, and the two CPM members were absent. The Twenty20 members served a notice of no-confidence against their own panchayat president for alleged corruption and her failure to comply with party directives. Kunnathunad panchayat comprises 18 seats, with the party having 11 members.
The UDF, including the Congress and the Muslim League, has five members and the CPM two. The Twenty20 said that the no-confidence motion against Nithamol was prompted by her alleged involvement in multiple illegal activities, including forgery of documents, criminal conspiracies, scams worth crores of rupees, and links with criminal gangs, as well as dereliction of her official duties.
According to the party, Nithamol, along with panchayat secretary Deepu Divakaran, conspired to retain CPM member Nizar Ibrahim who was legally disqualified under the Kerala Panchayat Raj rules. They allegedly sought to protect the secretary from legal proceedings by overturning a majority decision and creating a fake document of the panchayat committee’s minutes, which was then uploaded as if it represented the majority decision.
Twenty20 further accused Nithamol of misusing her official position to forge financial deals worth lakhs of rupees with real estate businessmen, land mafias, and moneylenders. The party alleged that she, along with the panchayat secretary, was involved in corruption amounting to crores of rupees.
“A thorough vigilance investigation should be carried out in this regard,” the party demanded in a statement issued on Tuesday. “The president’s irresponsible actions and indifference have deprived the public of the benefits and services they deserve,” the statement added.
“With the no-confidence motion against the president passed, there are 15 days to elect a new president, and the party will take a decision on this matter,” said Roy Ouseph, vice-president of the panchayat.