The protesting BJP corporators along with their floor leader B. Prakash, who stayed overnight inside the GHMC council hall, were evicted with the help of the police on Sunday afternoon.
It happened a full 24 hours after they stayed inside demanding action against Mayor Mohd. Majid Hussain. They also wanted recognition to C. Uday Kumar as a corporator representing Langar Houze. With confusion surrounding the validity of the oath taken by him, the GHMC has submitted a detailed report to the government on the Council proceedings on Saturday.
Senior municipal officials have pointed out that the BJP member had read out the oath amid the sloganeering din inside the hall but “the Act does not specify if the oath is valid when a member reads it independently”. “We have sent a report seeking clarification from the government,” they said.
Claiming that Mr. Kumar is a member now, the BJP leaders have demanded official recognition and issuance of letter heads as well as visiting cards to him. However, Mayor Majid Hussain having hurriedly adjourned the meeting in face of the vociferous protests, has categorically stated that he did not begin the proceedings. Hence the oath has no sanctity.
In the meantime, Telugu Desam floor leader Singireddy Srinivas Reddy has written to Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy to dismiss the Mayor for his failure to conduct the general body meeting even after a gap of eight months while civic problems pile up.
“Instead of calling the marshals to remove the protesting MIM corporators, he had suspended the meeting misusing his powers,” said Mr. Reddy. He led a demonstration outside the Mayor’s chambers on Friday protesting against his action.
Incidentally, it was the TD leader’s pressure tactics that the Act provisions allow a meeting to be called without the Mayor’s consent had made the latter relent. That it got truncated, presumably pre-planned, is an another story.
Another interesting feature of Saturday’s brief meeting was the group of Congress corporators who jumped ship into YSR Congress. They too had protested but their demand was for unveiling the YSR statue. The statue and that of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Gandhji are ready inside the head office awaiting installation for quite sometime now.
