Cong. Corporators Foil BRS Bid to Disrupt GHMC Council Meeting on Budget
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Hyderabad: Congress corporators, including those who joined the party from the Opposition, foiled at least four attempts by the BRS to disrupt the GHMC council meeting, which was convened to pass the budget, here on Thursday.
BRS corporators tore budget papers and flung them at the chair and jostled with Congress corporators who had formed a ring around the podium where Mayor G. Vijayalakshmi was seated. BRS corporators were marshalled out in two separate instances and party corporators and ex-officio members walked out after the second expulsion. In the melee, Borabanda corporator Baba Fasiuddin sustained scratches to his hand.
When order was restored, BJP corporators tried to disrupt the proceedings, objecting to Fasiuddin wearing a T-shirt with ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ written on it. That was soon resolved.
The council later adopted the Rs 8,440-crore budget for the corporation.
Congress, BJP and AIMIM corporators discussed, among other things, efforts to end corruption in the advertisement wing, increase property tax and ways to generate additional revenues, nala desilting, repairing streetlights, enhancing sanitation services and addressing grievances that were pending for years.
The meeting started at 10.35 am after the council mourned the passing of former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh and industrialist Ratan Tata. As the budget discussion was about to begin, BRS corporators demanded that the council first hold a question and answer session first.
When this was denied, they moved towards the Mayor’s podium to press their demand. Congress corporators formed a circle around the Mayor.
BRS corporators then raised slogans against Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, a corporator tore the budget papers and threw it towards the Mayor. Congress members retaliated by raising slogans against BRS president and former chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao.
As the situation threatened to go out of control, the chair ordered the expulsion of four BRS corporators, three of them women. They were escorted out by marshals.
BRS members then protested that the government was not implementing its Six Guarantees, leading to a brief adjournment.
When the session resumed, some BRS members raised slogans and waved placards. At this, the Mayor directed marshals to escort out those holding the placards. Following this, the rest of the BRS members, including MLAs and MLCs, who are ex-officio members, left the House.
In the discussion that followed, Congress, BJP and AIMIM corporators and ex-officio members lashed out at officials and private agencies for their apathy towards civic works.
The Mayor pointed out that BJP members had co-operated only after the BRS corporators ahd left the house.
On Wednesday, ministers D. Sridhar Babu and Ponnam Prabhakar had held meetings to prepare for the council meeting. On Thursday, Prabhakar hosted a breakfast meeting for Congress members and they headed for the session together.
As a blurb
Amid the melee at the GHMC council meeting here on Thursday, a corporator took selfies and gave his phone to a colleague and posed for pictures. Another corporator was seen scrolling reels.
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