MADIKERI: The 73 Congress corporators who were herded off to the cool climes of Madikeri, ostensibly to be safeguarded from being poached, were given lessons in civic governance on Wednesday.
Congress MLA S T Somashekar is said to be managing the entire trip. He said that a session was held in the morning where the corporators were briefed on what they must do for the people of Bengaluru. There was also a talk on the Karnataka Municipal Administration Act.
The corporators have been chilling out at Taj Vivanta and Club Mahindra resorts on the outskirts of Madikeri. The total expenditure for their two-day stay is estimated to be a whopping `1 crore.
The party, however, claims that this is not a holiday but a training session for the first-time corporators who are being mentored by senior party leaders.
The corporators were also scheduled to take some time off their ‘busy’ schedule and visit Dubaare Elephant Camp, Talacauvery and Bhaghamandala. But thanks to the rain, they were forced to stay indoors.
Somashekar told Express that there is little to learn from BJP leaders like Jaggesh and R Ashok, who are known for “zero political ethics”.
BJP Reacts
BJP members came down heavily on the Congress corporators for holing up in a resort. Subramanya Upadhayaya, BJP spokesman in Kodagu, stated in a press release that while the people of Kodagu are facing various civic issues, Congress members are spending time in resorts.
He added that Congress is making all efforts to gain power in the BBMP through the back door. Upadhayaya said the state government needs to take care of many Kodagu-related issues such as implementation of the Dr Kasturirangan report and managing the drought situation in the state.
Parties Confident of Ruling BBMP
With the High Court on Wednesday giving a green signal for holding the mayoral election on Friday, all the three major political party leaders said they were confident of coming to power in the BBMP council.
BJP city unit president Subba Narasimha said they have the required numbers of 131 to come back to power in the BBMP. “We have 100 BJP councillors, including Rajya Sabha members such as Rajeev Chandrashekar supporting us. We will have the Mayor candidate,” he said.
According to Ramalinga Reddy, District in-charge Minister, Congress and JD(S) have 132 members, including 76 councillors from Congress and 14 from JD(S). “We also have support from seven independent councillors and our strength is more than the required 131,” he said.
JD(S) city president Ratan Singh said his party and the Congress together have 134 members.
“Though we did not ask for the Deputy Mayor’s post, it is confirmed that a JD(S) member will become the Deputy Mayor,” he said.