CPM sees red over panchayat chief’s marriage

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A woman panchayat president in Kerala is struggling to retain her chair after she fell in love with and married a driver employed by the local body. But her party, the CPM, has reportedly asked the 25-year-old to quit her office.
‘‘They summoned me and my parents to the CPM area committee office and told us that I should live happily, but added that I should step down from my post,’’ Minimol, president of the Mylom panchayat in Kottarakkara in Kollam district, told TOI.Asked what ‘‘provoked’’ the party, she said: ‘‘Maybe there was the question of protocol involved in a panchayat president marrying a lower rank employee of the same office.’’
‘‘I’ve not taken any final decision on resigning,’’ she said.
The CPM, however, denied this. ‘‘We never asked her to quit. She was only advised to be open about the marriage as she occupies a responsible office, instead of doing it in a secretive manner,’’ party’s Kottarakkara area committee secretary C Mukesh said.
Elected from a ward reserved for scheduled caste candidates, Minimol fell in love with Jayan, a driver in the panchayat office, about six months ago. But as the word got out, she was instructed ‘‘unofficially’’ to delay the marriage by five years, till she completed her term, Minimol claimed. She said she agreed to the suggestion.
However, when the panchayat president started going to official programmes in the vehicle being driven by Jayan, it set tongues wagging in the town. Finally, the two took the call to get married. Their marriage was solemnized at the Sree Krishna temple in neighbouring Anchal on May 22.
Chairperson of state women’s commission Justice D Sreedevi said, ‘‘She should seek legal recourse.’’