Black flag protest by the Opposition and a scathing attack on the Mayor by UDF chairpersons of two standing committees marked the corporation council meeting on Friday.
The divide that ran deep in the UDF camp was exposed, with no Congress councillor coming to the defence of Mayor Soumini Jain as she came under fire from town planning standing committee chairperson Shiny Mathew and works standing committee chairman and Indian Union Muslim League member P.M. Harris.
The Opposition councillors encouraged the rift in the ruling UDF by offering copious support to the dissenting members of the front.
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While Ms. Mathew chose to express her dissent by distancing herself from the Mayor’s decision to go in for a vigilance probe into the signage deal and questioning the logic of the decision, Mr. Harris packed a punch in his animated speech with innuendos.
The Opposition members supported the chairpersons by thumping on the desk.
Both Ms. Mathew and Mr. Harris presented embarrassing moments to the ruling front by openly stating that they had not seen the files pertaining to the controversial deal and hinted that they were being held back by the Mayor.
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In an animated speech, Mr. Harris took jibes at Ms. Jain for her reported attempts to create an “anti-corruption crusader campaigner image” and said that none of the members of the works standing committee was corrupt.
“I will be at the forefront of fighting corruption, and I am sure that all councillors will join the move,” he said.
Taking a dig at the Mayor who wished to see a corruption-free Kochi in the New Year, Mr. Harris said he would resign from the post if any member of his committee was proved corrupt.
He said he reposed immense faith in corporation officials and attested to their credibility and efficiency to reject the Mayor’s stand that certain officials had erred in the signage deal.
He maintained that he had not seen the files pertaining to permission granted to Reliance for trenching city roads and wanted the Corporation Secretary to furnish relevant records.
Meanwhile, K.J. Antony, Benedict Fernandez, and V.P. Chandran of the CPI(M) criticised the civic administration for its alleged failures and accused it of being neck-deep in corruption. They demanded a detailed probe into all allegations of corruption and mismanagement in the civic administration.
The Opposition members prevented the Mayor from replying to the debate and burst themselves into a black flag protest and sloganeering.
The Mayor’s request to the Opposition members to return to their seats or take the protest out of the council hall for her to reply to the charges went unheeded.
As the Opposition members moved to the dais of the Mayor, she ended the council proceedings and announced the agenda passed.