MALAPPURAM: The Vazhikkadavu panchayat has cancelled the decision to appoint Sangh Parivar supporter R Krishnaraj as its standing counsel in the High Court after the decision became a big embarrassment for the IUML.
Panchayat president Thankamma N K issued an order stating that Krishnaraj will not appear for the local body in the future. The decision has stirred a hornet’s nest as it was alleged that Krishnaraj has been very critical of the Muslim community. His post against IUML state president Panakkad Syed Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal resurfaced on Facebook amid the controversy.
The CPM had alleged that the incident exposed the nexus between the UDF and the BJP, and that Krishnaraj was the mediator in the deal between the two parties. IUML had earlier claimed that it was the panchayat secretary, who is the husband of a CPM leader in Malappuram, who selected the advocate. But later the minutes of the decision taken by the panchayat board surfaced in public domain.
The panchayat president said she didn’t know that Krishnaraj was a BJP activist. “An advocate was representing the panchayat in the court. The UDF leadership later appointed another person as standing counsel. Krishnaraj was appointed after the person voluntarily opted out,” she said.
Thankamma added that it was the panchayat secretary and the vice-president who suggested to the board to appoint Krishnaraj. No one on the board objected to the decision at that time, she said. “The responsibility of handling the case is with the secretary. We only ratified the agenda when it was presented in the board meeting,” the president said.
IUML MLA Najeeb Kanthapuram said the party is taking the issue seriously and would take necessary action. “It cannot be considered as merely the fault of the officials,” he said.
There are seven IUML members and six Congress members on the panchayat board. CPM has seven members and CPI one. Congress’ Reji Joseph is the vice-president of the panchayat.