Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Belagavi City Corporation Deepak Jamkhandi has said that superseding the council was not a solution to the recurring problems arising out of the participation of councillors, who are also Maharashtra Ekikaran Samithi members, in the black day on Rajyotsava day.
Speaking to newsmen here on Wednesday, he said that the government should use other available options to take action against Mayor Sarita Patil, Deputy Mayor Sanjay M. Shinde and Sambhaji L. Patil, MLA, and all those councillors for participating in the black day instead of superseding the entire council as being demanded by some organisations. Why other councillors should be victimised for the mistake of a few members, he asked and said that every councillor was elected by voters not by government.
Also, if the government was finding a pretext in the delay by the corporation to implement development works and welfare measures for SCs/STs, then every municipal body deserved to be superseded as there was no example where even one municipal body had implemented every development work or welfare programme on time. In fact, the delays in a majority of cases were due to red-tapism by officials.
Also, “if we look upwards, then the very government should be superseded for the fact that no benefit under any scheme has been distributed to beneficiaries on time; a large number of beneficiaries are waiting for release of funds since more than two years, and there are development works affected due to delay in release of funds by the government; there were delays even in natural calamity relief works.”
“If this is the situation with the government, how can the government single out the Belagavi corporation for the mistakes of a few councillors? Belagavi city was selected for the Smart City Project in the first round because of the collective efforts of the councillors and officials which none can ignore,” said Mr. Jamkhandi.
He appealed to the government to find a permanent solution to the MES issue rather than yielding to the demands of superseding the elected body just because a few organisations were agitating.
Why others should be victimised for the mistake of a few? asks Deputy Leader Deepak Jamkhandi
