Cuttack: BJP and Congress corporators protested after the Cuttack Municipality Corporation’s (CMC) council approved the resignation of Mayor Anita Behera over irregularities in preparation of beneficiaries list under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) today. According to protesting members, the deputy Mayor and BJD corporators approved the motion in haste soon after its presentation ignoring their demands of reading out the resignation letter and subsequent discussion on the same.
“The deputy Mayor called an emergency council meeting today to read out the resignation letter and approve the same. However, the deputy Mayor and the BJD corporators approved the resignation without reading it out and allowing a discussion on it. They approved the resignation within seconds of presenting it and then walked out of the meeting,” said Congress corporator, Giribala Behera.
“We were not given a chance to discuss the matter and also the future course of action. The Mayor’s post is now vacant ahead of the upcoming budget. Had the discussion taken place, we could have raised the issue of the vacant Mayor's post and would have proposed immediate election of a new Mayor,” added Giribala
BJP corporators also protested the manner in which the proceedings took place and voiced similar concerns. “We wanted to verify the legitimacy of the Mayor's resignation. Subsequently, we could have analysed it from a legal point of view whether the Mayor coms under the inclusion criteria of the NFSA. However, we were not given an opportunity to discuss,” said a BJP corporator.
Meanwhile, CMC deputy Mayor Ajay Kumar Barik said “that the approval of the Mayor’s resignation was the only agenda of the meeting. Mayor Anita Behera was not involved in any irregularities and there were no allegations against her. Hence, there were no reasons of any holding discussions on the matter. Moreover, the resignation was approved as through after majority vote. The opposition parties’ aim is to oppose which is why they are protesting without any reasons.
Commenting on the election of a new Mayor, Barik said “The CMC commissioner will inform the State government about the same after which the process will be undertaken. In the meantime, I will be in charge.”