Kannur: Civic body chief offers to quit over NRK’s suicide

KANNUR: Anthoor municipal chairperson P.K. Syamala, facing widespread protests over the suicide of NRI entrepreneur Sajan Parayil, offered to quit at the CPM district secretariat meeting held here on Saturday.

Sources said the state committee would decide on her resignation later.

The emergency secretariat summoned her to explain why she denied occupancy certificate for the community hall that he had built and his subsequent suicide.
The resignation letter was handed over to the CPM district committee. Majority of the members opined that she could have averted the tragedy if she had acted in time.

After explaining her position, district secretary M.V. Jayarajan said it would be better for the party if she steps down.

Ms Syamala later told reporters that she had expressed her willingness to step down.

“It is up to the party to take a final decision,” she said. Later addressing a public meeting at Dharamsala, former district secretary P. Jayarajan said people’s representatives had failed in their duty. There are officials to look into the legal procedures before issuing licenses and other documents, he said, adding that people’s representatives must intervene to speed up the process to assist the public.

Referring to the arrogant stand taken by Ms Syamala, he said, “here the people’s representatives failed in it”.

Mr Parayil committed suicide after he failed to receive the occupancy certificate even after submitting the completion report carrying out all the changes in the building the authorities wanted. Despite complaining to district and state committees, and even after the direct intervention of Mr Jayarajan, he had to take the extreme step after the repeated denial of the certificate by the municipal authority.

He built the Parthas Auditorium and Convention Centre at Bekkalaminvesting all his savings after working many years in Nigeria.

A staunch CPM man, he was very close to Mr Jayarajan. He was a bit shocked as the intervention of even the state committee failed to get him justice.

It was the ego clash between Ms Syamala, the wife of CPM central committee member M.V. Govindan, and Mr Jayarajan that led to the fiasco.