PALAKKAD: A tense situation prevailed after workers of the BJP, which rules the Palakkad municipality, put up the party flag on the bust of Mahatma Gandhi inside the municipal building premises on Monday, triggering protests from the opposition Congress and the CPM.
All the councilors of the civic body were present in the municipal building for the election to the various standing committees of the municipality.
Though the police later removed the BJP flag, the Congress councilors staged a sit-in outside the office of the chairperson of the municipality. K Priya, the chairperson of the municipality, said all the BJP leaders were busy with the election for the standing committee members and blamed anti-social elements for placing the flag on the bust of Gandhiji.
She said that the civic body has filed a complaint before the police in this regard.
Meanwhile, the Youth Congress and DYFI activists took out a march to the Palakkad municipal office to protest the alleged action of the BJP workers.
On December 17, workers of the BJP, which won the local body elections, climbed atop the Palakkad municipal office building and rolled down two banners — one of which read Jai Shri Ram and the other depicted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah with the slogan Vande Mataram.
The BJP workers rolled down the sheets in the open space above the ground floor after the NDA secured a simple majority of 28 seats in the 52-member council.