Thiruvananthapuram, June 25 (IANS) The Thiruvananthapuram Corporation on Thursday descended into chaos as a simmering political and legal battle over the oath taking of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Councillors spilled onto the streets, triggering clashes between ruling and Opposition Councillors and leaving a woman Councillor injured.

The confrontation erupted when senior BJP leader as well as Thiruvananthapuram Corporation Mayor V.V. Rajesh arrived at the Corporation office amid a protest by LDF Councillors demanding the resignation of BJP Councillors.

The LDF, alleging that the recent re-administration of oaths to 19 BJP Councillors was irregular and had invalidated the election of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor, had laid siege to the Mayor’s office.

As Mayor Rajesh attempted to enter the building, LDF Councillors moved to block his way.

The BJP Councillors intervened, leading to pushing and shoving between the rival political groups.

Police personnel struggled to contain the situation as tempers flared inside the Corporation premises.

Sindhu Sasi, the CPI-M Councillor from Kattayikonam ward, sustained a head injury during the melee and was rushed to hospital.

BJP leaders, meanwhile, claimed that several of their Councillors, as well as the Mayor, were injured in the confrontation.

After forcing his way into the office, Mayor Rajesh accused the Opposition of resorting to hooliganism and questioned the authority of the LDF to prevent an elected Mayor from discharging his duties.

“Even ordinary citizens were prevented from entering the office. Such actions cannot be allowed in a democratic institution,” he said.

The protest follows Wednesday’s Kerala High Court judgment setting aside the oaths taken by 20 BJP Councillors who had sworn in the names of their preferred deities and martyrs instead of in the prescribed statutory form.

The court directed the Councillors to take fresh oaths, which they did within hours, swearing “in the name of God”.

However, both the LDF and UDF contend that the re-oath ceremony was conducted without proper notice and in the absence of Opposition Councillors, rendering it procedurally flawed.

They said that the renewed qualification of the 20 Councillors retrospectively alters the composition of the Council at the time of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor elections, making those elections invalid.

The Opposition has demanded fresh elections to both posts.

The controversy has now transformed a procedural legal dispute into a full-blown political confrontation.

The Left Councillors are on a relay protest strike in the Corporation office.

–IANS

sg/khz