Kala Raju, councillor of Koothattukulam municipality, undergoing treatment at a hospital in Kochi.
| Photo Credit: R.K. Nithin

CPI(M) councillor in Koothattukulam municipality Kala Raju has said she needs time to decide whether to remain in the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the wake of a recent incident where she was allegedly ‘abducted’ by her own party near the municipal office on Saturday (January 18).

While undergoing treatment at a city hospital, Ms. Raju told The Hindu that she was still in shock and unable to decide her political future. She was allegedly assaulted and forcibly taken away by CPI(M) supporters just before a discussion and vote on a no-confidence motion against CPI(M) municipal chairperson Vijaya Sivan.

“It might have been easy for the party I have been associated with for 25 years to try to eliminate me, but it is not so easy for me to switch sides just like that. However, any decision I make will be influenced by the events of Saturday,” she said, lamenting that none of the nine other women councillors from the party reached out to her after the incident.

Ms. Raju expressed greater concern for her children’s safety than her own and said she was hesitant to return to Koothattukulam after being discharged from the hospital. “If I could be assaulted and ‘abducted’ in front of the police and hundreds of people, it shows they can do as they please. How can I trust the police when they have not made a single arrest despite identifying those involved?” she asked.

Ms. Raju dismissed CPI(M) allegations that she was untraceable for four days before Saturday and had been reportedly ‘abducted’ by the Congress. “On one of those days, I spoke with a CPI(M) woman councillor for over an hour and attended a funeral in Kochi,” she said and clarified that the United Democratic Front only intervened and admitted her to the city hospital at her request.