Taking serious exception to Janata Dal (Secular) members, who skipped the Zilla Panchayat (ZP) general meeting that was scheduled to be held on Friday, ZP president Shwetha Devaraj, on Saturday, said that JD(S) leaders did not want the smooth functioning of the ZP because she belonged to the Scheduled Tribe category.
Addressing a press conference, Ms. Devaraj said, “The JD(S) leaders are not letting me function as the president, because I come from the Scheduled Tribe background. They have been skipping the ZP meetings since the first meeting was convened to hold elections for the posts of president and vice president.”
JD(S) members skipped the meeting on Friday. Leaders of the party maintained that their members skipped the meeting because the issue of elections to the standing committees was not on the agenda. The meeting was put off due to lack of quorum.
However, Ms. Devaraj said there was no rule to discuss the standing committee in the first meeting itself.
“Anyhow, they could have attended the meeting and raised the same issue,” she said.
“The JD(S) should be held responsible if development works were affected in the district. The people who elected the JD(S) members should object to the behaviour of their representatives,” she added.
The JD(S) leaders
are not letting me function as the president, rues Shwetha Devaraj
