Palakkad BJP Leadership Rejects Municipal Chairperson Over Shared Stage with MLA Rahul Mankootathil
Palakkad: A significant disagreement has emerged within the Palakkad unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) following Municipal Chairperson and party leader Prameela Sasidharan sharing a stage with MLA Rahul Mankootathil, who is currently facing various allegations.
BJP District President Prashanth Sivan unequivocally stated that the party’s protest against MLA Mankootathil will persist until his resignation. He emphasized that the official party directive is for no BJP member to share a platform with Rahul Mankootathil. Sivan criticized Prameela Sasidharan’s participation in the event, alleging that her actions were improper and went against party principles. He also confirmed that the state leadership is actively addressing the matter, and the issue has been brought up in various party forums.
In contrast, BJP National Council member N. Sivarajan offered a divergent perspective, contradicting the district leadership’s stance. Sivarajan clarified that Prameela Sasidharan attended the event in her official capacity as the Municipal Chairperson and was reportedly unaware of MLA Mankootathil’s presence. He highlighted that the BJP operates as a democratic party, naturally allowing for differences of opinion. Sivarajan further added that there is no impropriety in cooperating with Mankootathil on development-related initiatives.
The event in question was the inauguration ceremony of the Stadium Bypass-District Hospital Link Road, where the Municipal Chairperson presided. The construction of this road was facilitated using funds allocated from MLA Rahul Mankootathil’s constituency development fund. This incident marks the first occasion a non-Congress public representative has shared a stage with Mankootathil amidst ongoing strong protests against him. Prameela Sasidharan has maintained that her attendance was solely in her official capacity as Municipal Chairperson, an explanation that has nonetheless placed the BJP in a defensive position.