After Kerala HC rap, 19 BJP councillors of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation sworn in again (Ld)

Thiruvananthapuram, June 24 (IANS) Nineteen BJP councillors of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation on Wednesday retook their oath of office after the Kerala High Court earlier in the day invalidated the earlier oath they had taken in the names of multiple deities and martyrs, setting the stage for a fresh political confrontation in the state capital.

Mayor V.V. Rajesh administered the oath to the councillors, including Deputy Mayor Asha Nath and others, at a special function held at the Corporation office.

The Opposition stayed away from the ceremony.

The fresh oath-taking follows a High Court ruling that declared invalid the oath taken by 20 BJP councillors after the 2025 local body elections.

The court had directed them to take the oath again in accordance with the provisions of the Kerala Municipality Act within four weeks and ruled that they could not exercise the powers of elected members until then.

However, the controversy did not end with Wednesday’s ceremony.

The LDF lodged a complaint with the Principal Secretary of the Local Self Government Department, alleging that the fresh oath-taking failed to fully comply with the conditions laid down by the High Court and seeking official scrutiny of the proceedings.

In its landmark judgment, the High Court had clarified that elected representatives could take the oath either in the name of God or by making a solemn affirmation.

Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan observed that the Kerala Municipality Act does not provide for an expanded interpretation of the term God and therefore oaths taken in the names of multiple deities could not be treated as legally valid.

The court had also invalidated the oath taken by BJP councillor Sugathan, who is currently in jail in a KAAPA case.

Drawing attention nationwide, the judgment had cited a popular Malayalam film song by lyricist M.D. Rajendran to underline the concept that, despite different forms of worship, the divine is ultimately one.

The court used the reference while explaining why the statutory format could not be altered to accommodate the names of multiple deities.

With the BJP insisting that it has complied with the court’s directions and the LDF disputing the procedure adopted, the issue now appears headed for another round of legal and political scrutiny.

–IANS

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