Kerala voters urge Sierra Leone govt to send back Congress MLA

A row erupted in Kerala over left-front MLA P V Anvar being absent from his constituency over the last couple of months and not attending the Assembly session as he is engaged in gold mining business in the African country Sierra Leone.

As a mark of protest, critics from his constituency Nilambur in Malappuram district posted on the Facebook page of State House Sierra Leone requesting that their MLA be sent back to Kerala.

Meanwhile, Congress leaders have sought action against the MLA for allegedly running away from his responsibilities.

While the MLA could not be reached, his office said he went to Sierra Leone about two months back and was likely to return in another one month time. They also said that five staff have been appointed in the constituency to take care of the needs and to ensure development activities were progressing without any hindrance.

Though people would not be able to contact the MLA directly, he used to contact people if necessary. As many as 88 questions of the MLA were also raised in the just-concluded session of the Assembly, his office said.

While Congress MP K Muraleedharan alleged that the MLA was committing serious violation by keeping away from the Assembly and constituency, Assembly speaker M B Rajesh told DH that it needs to be verified whether he applied for any leave or not. The speaker, however, added that MLAs generally need to take formal leave only if they are absent from the house for more than 60 days at a stretch.

Anvar told a TV channel that he went to Sierra Leone with the permission of the left-front leadership. He had allegedly commented in a vulgar manner to some reports regarding his 'missing from the constituency'.

A known businessman, Anvar was caught up in a similar row during the election also when he was in Sierra Leone even after his candidature was announced. He had made job offers to thousands of Malayalis in the mining sector in the West African country.

Earlier, the two-time MLA had courted controversy over illegal constructions of a water theme park in an ecologically fragile region in Kozhikode district.