The Hindu 21.09.2010
Sparks fly at VMC meet
Staff Reporter
| Row over Rajiv Awas Yojna |
VIJAYAWADA: Rajiv Awas Yojna (RAY), a new scheme that focuses on slum dwellers and the urban poor, created a ruckus in the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) general body on Monday.
Utter chaos
Utter din prevailed at the meeting hall as corporators of the ruling Congress and the opposition parties – the CPI, the CPI (M) and the TDP – entered into heated arguments. Members from both sides shouted at the top of their voices, totally ignoring Mayor M.V. Ratna Bindu's repeated appeals to calm down. The members time and again rushed to the podium and picked up argument with the Chair.
The opposition parties later staged a walk-out in protest against the ‘indifferent' attitude of the ruling party. However, CPI (M) members D. Kasinath and B. Satya Babu stayed back in the hall, inviting criticism from the Congress members.
Commotion prevailed in the hall as Mr. Kasinath, former Mayor Tadi Sakunthala and Abdul Qadar cross talked with each other, ignoring the Mayor's pleas.
Mr. Kasinath and Mr. Qadar rushed to the podium once again to make their case. As tempers ran high, members pushed and shoved each other forcing the Mayor to announce a break.
The meeting was brought into order after the brief break. The Mayor asserted that she would not allow any cross talk, and more than one member should not speak at a time.
But trouble broke out once again when the opposition parties questioned the rationale behind the resolution proposed by Ms. Sakunthala, seeking constitution of a committee comprising all those who worked as mayors, deputy mayors, MLAs, MPs and floor leaders to monitor the implementation of RAY as the general body's term would expire in the first week of October.
The opposition parties sought to know whether the State government would not conduct the elections soon after the completion of the term of the general body. They commented that the Congress was afraid of conducting the elections. Congress senior member Samanthapudi Narasaraju retaliated saying it was nonsensical that the parties that ride piggyback on other parties to win two seats were commenting. CPI (M) floor leader Ch. Babu Rao, CPI floor leader D. Sankar, TDP floor leader Y. Ramana and others spoke.
