The ruling BJP councillors’ pressure on Mayor D. Venkatesh Murthy to postpone presentation of the budget may have paid off. For, the budget that should have been presented on Saturday has been postponed to July 26.
The presentation of the budget by the Mayor without consulting his party colleagues had ruffled feathers with many senior councillors alleging that Mr. Murthy had fallen into the hands of ruling Congress government in the State.
“The draft copy of the budget came only in the evening and it needs to be vetted and discussed,” the Mayor said justifying the decision to postpone the budget.
“I will discuss the matter with my party colleagues and the Chief Minister as well before the budget is presented on July 26,” he said.
Meanwhile, a senior BJP councillor said that it was natural on their part to demand a discussion on the budget.
“We are the ruling party and we need to know what goes into the budget. We feel that the Congress is trying to dictate terms on us. After presentation of the budget if the state government wants to make any change, it is up to them,” the councillor said.
