Budget presentation in Erode municipal corporation was today deferred indefinitely after more than 30 councillors, including several from ruling DMK, boycotted the proceedings protesting alleged tampering of council records by Mayor K Kumar Murugesh.
As his pleas to the councillors to attend the meeting went unheeded, the Mayor was forced to adjourn the meeting for want of quorum. Only six out of the 22 DMK councillors and an independent were present when the Mayor rose to present the budget for 2011-12.
The councillors, under the leadership of Deputy Mayor B. Venkatachalam (Congress), said during the January 28 council meeting a resolution moved for the underground drainage project for the city was adjourned after 34 councillors of DMK, Congress, AIADMK, DMDK and MDMK opposed it saying the scheme was not beneficial to the people.
However, later the Mayor tampered with the minutes of the meeting and recorded that the resolution was passed, Mr. Venkatachalam alleged.
He also said prior to the preparation of the budget, the Mayor did not hold any consultation with the councillors to elicit their views.
The protesting councillors raised slogans against the Mayor.