HYDERABAD: Irked by the GHMC council's reluctance to hold a meeting to discuss public grievances for nearly five months, scores of BJP corporators and party workers ransacked Hyderabad Mayor Gadwal R Vijayalaxmi's office at the civic body’s headquarters on Tuesday.
The BJP men reportedly barged into the Mayor's office and damaged the furniture, destroyed flower pots, cut the cable wires, defaced the GHMC name board, removed the name plates of Mayor and Deputy Mayor and even broke the glass panes.
The incident occurred when a large number of corporators and the BJP party workers, carrying placards and raising slogans against the Mayor, gathered at the GHMC head office in the morning to stage a demonstration. However, they suddenly turned violent and went amok, damaging everything in sight and also sprayed black paint on the name boards.
When the Saifabad police tried to stop the corporators, heated arguments ensued. Later, the police took them into custody and registered criminal cases against 32 corporators and 50 workers of BJP. It may be mentioned here that the last general body meeting was held virtually on June 29 due to the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic. Though there has been an improvement in the situation, the GHMC has failed to convene a meeting since then.
"The Mayor is afraid of facing us and so does not want to hold meetings to discuss people’s problems. We will fight for improving public infrastructure like roads, drains, health, protection of water bodies," BJP Corporator Devara Karunakar told The New Indian Express.
He said that the GHMC budget was passed during the last virtual meeting but no discussion on public issues took place at that time. Describing the violence as a heinous act, Mayor Gadwal Vijayalaxmi said: "There are many ways to solve people's problems but destroying corporation assets is deplorable."
She also wanted to know why the BJP corporators did not turn up though she gave an appointment to them on a previous occasion. "They are aware that the general body meeting could not be held as the election code is in force. But they deliberately made a fuss," she added.
Meanwhile, BJP State president Bandi Sanjay Kumar condemned the arrest of BJP corporators. "They should be released unconditionally. If this is how the police act against the corporators, what will be the fate of a common man," he wondered.