KOCHI: Setting a litmus test for Kochi Mayor Soumini Jain, the LDF councillors on Thursday submitted a notice to District Collector S Suhas seeking a no-confidence motion against her. Based on the notice, the Collector decided to convene a council meeting for discussing the no-trust motion on September 9.
It was around 3.30 pm on Thursday that a team led by Opposition leader KJ Antony submitted a notice signed by 34 LDF councillors to the Collector. The LDF decided to move a no-trust motion after they found support for the Mayor was waning among UDF councillors.
“In the last council meeting, seven councillors signed a dissent note against the Mayor for allowing a private contractor to withdraw Rs 91.22 lakh security deposit for construction work at Mattanchery. It is crystal clear that several Congress councillors are upset with the Mayor’s unilateral decisions. We are confident that the LDF can register a victory in the trust vote in the next council meeting,” said Antony.
“The Mayor has turned the Corporation to a hub of corruption. The public was denied basic services. Several Central Government-funded projects also failed to take off in the city. Even though we have raised the issue before the council, the Mayor turned a blind eye to it. Several councillors, including those belonging to the ruling front, have lost confidence in the Mayor,” said VP Chandran, Secretary, LDF Parliamentary Party.
In the 74-member council, the UDF enjoys the support of 38 members while the BJP has two representatives. To vote out the Mayor, the LDF has to get the support of four councillors. Meanwhile, district Congress chief and Deputy Mayor T J Vinodh told Express they would unitedly fight the no-confidence motion. “If there is an issue, it will be resolved through a discussion. At present, there is no crisis in the ruling front,” he said.
He also said that the party would discuss whether to issue a whip to the councillors before taking part in the trust vote. “So far, no decision in this regard has been taken. It should be taken as per the procedures,” said Vinodh.