The Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) Council meeting convened on Thursday was adjourned due to lack of quorum with even the BJP corporators abstaining from it, underlining the rift within the party as they are loggerheads with the Mayor on various issues.
The BJP is heading the MCC council and the Mayor, .Sunanda Palanethra, announced the adjournment citing lack of quorum, within minutes of reaching the council hall.
The day’s development also irked Mysuru MP Pratap Simha as one of the projects to ensure piped supply of domestic LPG for cooking was to be approved. However, it transpired that some of the MLAs of the BJP had written to the councillors not to back the project on the grounds that it will entail digging up the roads.
Mr. Simha had stated early in the day that the piped gas supply was to be implemented in Mysuru for which about 500 km length pipe had to be laid in the city. The MCC being the local body was supposed to ratify the project and give its consent and Mr. Simha had described it as a ‘’mere formality’’. But much to his chagrin, the councillors abstained en masse from the meeting and hence the subject has to be taken forward to the next meeting. However, the next meeting has to be preceded by electing a new Mayor.
In the meantime, Ms.Sunanda Palanethra said that she had no objections to the project and it was unfortunate that the last meeting under her chairmanship was adjourned with no business taking place as her tenure comes to an end in due course.
Mr. Simha did not spare the BJP MLAs in his criticism and alluding to S.A. Ramdas of Krishnaraja constituency, said some take credit for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policies and conduct ‘’Modi Yuga Utsava’’ but instead of ensuring that the benefits reach the people they are content distributing booklets with their photographs.
The Mayor had recently lamented the lack of cooperation from her own party councillors with respect to grant of ₹50 crore from the State Finance Commission to take up development works including road repairs. She had stated that the funds would lapse in case the members did not cooperate and had alleged that a majority of the councillors including those from the BJP had written to the authorities to withhold the grant as they were not convinced of the rationale for selecting the roads.
Mr. Simha said the BJP MLAs were hand in glove with the Congress in opposing the project and said they should eschew petty politics. Mr. Modi was scheduled to be in Mysuru for inauguration of the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway by the end of this year and hence the piped gas supply project too could have been timed to coincide with it, he added
