The Hindu : Factional feuds spell doom for women civic chiefs

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 26, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala

Factional feuds spell doom for women civic chiefs

By K. S. Sudhi

KOCHI JUNE 25. Factional feuds, personal animosity, and inflated male egos are creating problem for the women civic chiefs in some of the panchayath Raj institutions in the State.

Two municipal chairpersons were dethroned on Tuesday — in Paravur municipality in Ernakulam district and Alappuzha municipality. The Pathanamthitta municipal chairperson was removed from the post on Monday.

The coup against the chairpersons came at a time when the elected bodies had completed half of their term in the office.

All the three chairpersons complained that their party colleagues plotted against them for various reasons, including their reluctance to allow back seat driving in the council.

Valsala Prasannakumar of Paravur accused the municipal vice-chairman of plotting against her for refusing to toe his line.

``The vice-chairman insisted that all the files be routed through him even though I was there in the office. He unnecessarily interfered with the administration and attempted to rein the municipal administration which I resisted,'' Ms. Prasannakumar told The Hindu.

``He also attempted to give the colour of group politics to his personal vendetta and manipulations against me. My tough stand against corruption and unnecessary interventions in the administration and manoeuvrings also might have provoked him to organise a coup in the council. He also acted hand in glove with the LDF-led Opposition to destabilise the council,'' she alleged.

The rebels also succeeded in electing their candidate, A. K. Chandramathy Amma, also a Congress nominee, as the chairperson in place of Ms. Prasannakumar with a thumping majority.

Though lady luck smiled on Molly Jacob eight months ago when the she was elected as the chairperson of the Alappuzha municipality through the toss of a coin, she was not lucky enough this time to survive a no-confidence motion.

The LDF, BJP and an independent voted in favour of the no-confidence motion moved against her on Tuesday.

Unlike the two other municipalities, where the Congress had majority, the LDF and the UDF have 21 members each in Alappuzha. The fate of the municipal council now depends on the stand adopted by the BJP and the PDP, which have three and two members respectively in the council.

The stand adopted by the independent councillor will also have a crucial role in the civic administration.

For Ms. Molly, the Congress nominee, the last eight months were a period of "mental torture and agony'' as some of her party colleagues were "determined not to give her peace in the office''.

``The supporters of the former chairperson, who is also a Congress leader, and the UDF vice-chairman didn't give me a moment of peace during the last eight months. A section of the Congress councillors started creating trouble from the very first council meeting and were bent on creating distress for the administration,'' she said.

``More than group affiliations, it was the personal vendetta of some of the Congress and UDF functionaries that created problems in the council. They often colluded with the LDF-led Opposition and moved against the administration,'' she charged.

Fed up with the unpleasant experience and the "politics of hatred'', she has decided not to contest for the post of chairperson again.

``Even if I am re-elected, those interest groups that earlier worked against me would team up against me.

Hence this decision,'' she ruefully added.

The former Pathanamthitta municipal chairperson, Ajeeba, also a Congress nominee, has a similar experience to tell.

She was voted out of the office following a no-confidence motion that received the support of some of the Congress councillors.

She is of the view that it was the former chairman and the vice-chairman, both DCC-level office-bearers of the Congress, who had hatched the conspiracy for ousting her.

"The political situation where the former chairman and the vice-chairman had to remain as councillors in the council headed by a women might have inflated their egos,'' she said.

"They plotted against me after realising that I would not allow back seat driving in the council. They also feared that I would expose the corruption that took place in the municipality during their term,'' she said.

Ms. Ajeeba rose up in the party hierarchy recently and was appointed as the KPCC secretary.

``My rivals in the party feared that I would become a threat for their political future. Being an educated woman and a member of a minority community and a KPCC secretary, they feared that my continuation in the office would hamper their political career,'' she said.

As the dissident activities were increasing day by day, the Congress leadership has decided to convene a meeting of its civic chiefs in Thiruvananthapuram during the first week of July to sort out the issue of power sharing among other things.

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