Thiruvananthapuram: Thiruvananthapuram mayor Arya Rajendran, who was earlier in the news for being one of the youngest mayors in the country, is now in the news for an altercation with a transport bus driver along with her husband Sachin Dev, who is one of the youngest MLAs in the Kerala Assembly.
It was on Saturday night in Thiruvananthapuram city that the mayor-MLA couple along with some of their relatives waylaid a Kerala State Road Transport Corporation's (KSRTC) long distance bus accusing the driver L H Yadhu of rash driving and showing "sexually coloured action" at the mayor and her sister-in-law.
Subsequently, there was a verbal duel and Yadhu, who is a daily wage driver, was held by the police on the basis of the mayor's complaint, even as he strongly denied the charges against him. The bus's trip got delayed for about an hour, causing inconvenience to the passengers during the late hours. Though the driver filed a petition accusing the mayor, MLA and others of obstructing his duty, no action was taken.
The incident triggered strong criticism against the mayor-MLA couple on social media for way laying transport bus and causing inconvenience to passengers instead of complaining to the police or authorities concerned. Though the mayor tried to justify that they did not waylay the bus but only spoke to the driver when the bus stopped at a traffic signal, the CCTV footage of the incident found the mayor's version untrue.
The mayor took up the matter with transport minister K B Ganesh Kumar and the driver was asked to keep off from duty pending probe.
CPI(M) state leadership justified the mayor-MLA couple's action. CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan said that it was a natural reaction from their side to the objectionable acts and gestures from the part of the bus driver.
Published 29 April 2024, 12:32 IST