The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Ruckus again in BBMP Council

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Saturday, Feb 26, 2011
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Ruckus again in BBMP Council

Staff Reporter

Mayor Nataraj suspends Opposition members en masse

CHAOS:Congress and Janata Dal (S) councillors staging a protest in the well of the House during

Bangalore: Pandemonium reigned supreme again in the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Council on Friday, and Mayor S.K. Nataraj suspended all the Opposition councillors, including independents, within half an hour.

But not before they stormed the well of the House, protesting against the poor allocation to BBMP in the State Budget and raising slogans against the Chief Minister and the Mayor.

Posters with slogans

The commotion began when JD(S) councillors, led by Floor Leader Padmanabha Reddy, turned up with posters that had slogans against the State Government's measly grant to the BBMP. B.S. Sathyanarayana, of the BJP, and P.N. Sadashiva, chairperson of the Standing Committee for Taxation and Finance, said the posters were against the business rules prescribed by the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976.

Just as the House came to some order, the BJP councillors from the Govindarajnagar Assembly Constituency stormed the well and claimed that the Congress councillors had disrupted the programme held recently in Nagarbhavi.

Though Mr. Nataraj adjourned the meeting for half an hour, the Opposition councillors continued to sit in the well. Upset with this, the BJP councillors instructed the Council staff to “throw the protesters out of the hall”.

Continuous disorder

It may be noted that very few of the BBMP Council meetings have been conducted smoothly, with most witnessing disorder and adjournment.

The 198 councillors have failed to solve problems dogging the city.

Several first-time councillors are yet to raise issues in the House, what with the veterans stealing their thunder and disrupting the meetings.

The cash-strapped BBMP spends no less than Rs. 3 lakh to organise each meeting, including payment of sitting fees and travel allowance for the 198 councillors. This also includes the catering bill that averages around Rs. 90,000 to Rs. 1 lakh.

With no attempt being made by either the BJP or the Opposition parties, it seems that the common man's problems are here to stay.

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