Opposition protests move to make temporary workers permanent, council disrupted

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Opposition on Saturday raised a protest against the move to make temporary workers with close to 20 years of experience in Thiruvananthapuram corporation permanent. The  protest was registered in the council meeting held on the online platform, Zoom.While both BJP and UDF councillors opposed the move, the UDF later filed a complaint regarding the same with the secretary after the disrupted council meeting concluded early because of technical difficulties.“We are not against the move to make anyone permanent per se,” said BJP councillor Girikumar.

“There are many deserving candidates waiting and some have even filed cases. But the issue is that the item was not listed in the agenda given to us. It was presented during the meeting. Moreover, there were no names. The names of the candidates should have been listed. We can only see this as an attempt at backdoor appointment.” UDF council leader Anil Kumar said they will go ahead with the complaint filed with the secretary to ensure that the agenda is not listed as passed.

On Friday, the BJP and the UDF had given a disagreement letter against the meeting being held online. The protesting councillors took part in the council meeting from outside the council hall using the Zoom app. This is the second time the entire meeting was held online.  “Even the legislative assembly convened following the Covid protocol. It is possible here too,” Girikumar said. Mayor K Sreekumar said the disruption was unprecedented.

“We have held many meetings now through video calls. This is the first time such a disruption has happened, but we have to follow government instructions. Regarding the agenda, the item on appointments was passed in the council meeting. We have 125 vacancies in the corporation now and a list has been prepared for the same by the department concerned,” the Mayor said.