THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The corporation council on Monday passed the Rs 130.77-crore surplus budget presented by finance committee chairman PK Raju amidst ruckus without much discussion. The council session which began in the morning ended immediately after the BJP councillors created a fuss alleging that the budget was not discussed properly and the income and expenditure presented by the finance committee chairman is incorrect.
The discussion session turned violent when the BJP councillors demanded discussion on the activities of the anti-defacement squad under the civic body alleging that its squad is targeting BJP. However, Mayor Arya Rajendran did not encourage the discussion as it was not related to the budget. She told the opposition that the defacement squad activities are being carried out as per the instructions from the district collector.
According to a senior councillor of the BJP, P Ashok Kumar, seven out of the 13 members of the finance committee is from the BJP and the finance committee chairman has not done any detailed discussion regarding the budget with the members. “The councillors in the finance committee are in the dark and do not have a clue on the budget. They simply collect our signatures for attending the meetings and do not discuss anything. When the session began today, I sought time to raise the concern and I was allowed to speak but the discussion did not progress any further,” he said.
He said the anti-defacement squad under the civic body on Sunday night launched a drive in the city and they removed only the hoardings and posters put up by the BJP. “We demanded time to discuss the matter too, but the Mayor did not listen and passed the budget. We’ve given a disagreement letter to the corporation secretary requesting not to implement the budget which is unreal and filled with anomalies,” said Ashok Kumar. The BJP councillors have decided to take up the matter with Ombudsman soon.