Mangaluru : The Opposition BJP in the Mangaluru City Corporation council has written to Mayor Jescinta Vijaya Alfred and the commissioner of the civic body H.N. Gopalakrishna to suspend the resolutions passed at the special meting of the council on February 24 as it was, according to the party, “illegal”.
It has given seven days from July 26 to reply to the letter with actions taken. Otherwise the letter said “…we will be constrained to initiate appropriate legal action against all concerned… in the interest of general public…”
Meanwhile, among the major resolutions passed in the special meeting included approval for creation of three zones in the corporation for administrative purpose. Earlier the BJP had been pressing for it.
The rift between the BJP and the ruling Congress deepened at a time when a BJP councillor is all set to become the Deputy Mayor on March 11 due to reservation. The elections to the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor are scheduled on that day.
The letter said that a special meeting could be called for “special purposes” in between two general meetings of the council or “as an when necessary for the purpose of taking decision on a special and extraordinary subject based agenda or matters in larger interest of the public”.
It said that the corporation did not conduct the monthly meeting of February, 2016 as required under the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976. Hence, the letter claimed that the resolutions passed in the special meeting were “illegal”. “…Hence the same are unenforceable and therefore desist from submitting the same to the government of Karnataka or implementing the same…”
The letter also took objection for the Mayor giving in advance approval for works of over Rs. 19 crore without placing them before the council for the approval first. “… This act amounts to abuse of statutory power and therefore the same is liable to be condemned for being undemocratic and showing utter disrespect to the council of the corporation…”