KOCHI: The Opposition councillors of the Kochi Corporation are peeved at what they call “the Mayor’s reluctance” to discuss the organisation of the golden jubilee celebrations of the corporation with the council.
K.J. Antony, the leader of the Opposition, has written to Mayor Soumini Jain, voicing his protest against the manner in which the celebrations are being planned.
At the same time, Ms. Jain maintained that all decisions were taken in consultation with the councillors including those from the Opposition.
What irked Left councillors the most was the Mayor’s decision to convene a meeting of the council on November 21, which is hardly 24 hours before the scheduled inauguration of the celebrations by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu.
“No serious discussions have gone into the organisation of the event which will be attended by the Vice President. The civic administration lacked vision, and it failed to ensure the cooperation of all sections for the conduct of the event. It also did not properly intimate the councillors,” Mr. Antony said.
“Being an important function, all Opposition councillors will attend it. They will also abstain from staging protests. The Mayor should not take the goodwill gesture of the councillors for granted,” he added.
The Left councillors will meet on November 20 to decide on the manner in which their protest should be registered. “The Opposition will resort to democratic ways to mark its disagreement with the civic administration,” Mr. Antony said. CPI(M) councillor Benedict Fernandez objected to the manner in which the inaugural event was organised. “Officials of the civic body were not given due consideration while charting the programmes,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ms. Jain said the decision to organise the event and the raising of funds for its conduct were discussed and approved in the council. The suggestions of the Opposition councillors, including those of the leader of the Opposition, were also considered, she said.
The authority to organise various events was delegated to all standing committees. The steering committees were also asked to convene meetings of its members to discuss and finalise the programmes, she added. Ms. Jain urged councillors to bury their political differences and join hands for the smooth conduct of the event, which, according to her, was planned as a unique celebration of the city.
