High drama at Thiruvotriyur municipality council meet as DMK stages walkout

By G Saravanan

Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai, on Sept 01, 2010:

CHENNAI: In a dramatic development at the Thiruvotriyur municipality’s monthly council meeting on Tuesday, the ruling DMK councillors staged a walkout seeking immediate resignation of the chairman R Jayaraman of the CPM.

Due to the walkout, chairman Jayaraman postponed the meeting citing lack of quorum. About 81 resolutions, including a few important ones pertaining to the development of roads in the municipality, were on the agenda.

As the meet began, municipality vice chairman Ramanathan (DMK) hurled abuses at Jayaraman for staging a series of protests against the ruling DMK councillors. Continuing his tirade against the chairman, Ramanathan went on to say that the CPM chairman lost his moral leadership and sought his immediate resignation from the post.

Of the total 48 members, the DMK has 31, AIADMK 11, Congress four and the CPM two councillors respectively. Though one of the CPM councillors, R Jayaraman, is the chairman, DMK is the ruling party here. Disregarding their demands, the chairman tried to carry on with the business of the meeting. Irked over his attitude, all the DMK councillors, including the vice chairman Ramanathan, staged a walkout.

Seizing the opportunity, AIADMK councillors targeted both the chairman and the municipality commissioner S Kalaiselvan and sought their reply on the inordinate delay in executing public welfare projects. Being cornered on all sides in the House, Kalaiselvan citing a lack of quorum, retorted, “I will reply only when all members are present,’ and left the venue.

The dejected AIADMK councillors staged a dharna in front of the commissioner’s chamber and raised slogans against him.

Speaking to Express, chairman Jayaraman said, “DMK councillors were stalling the council meeting as they wanted all the tenders related to any developmental work in the municipality to be awarded to their people only.”

Sources linked the DMK’s walkout to a special resolution, which would bar the municipality from floating any tenders in future. If the special resolution was passed, it would be detrimental for the DMK-backed contractors in the municipality who pocket huge sums of money without finishing the work properly.

AIADMK Councillor comes with lantern: The council meet started with a stormy note after an AIADMK councillor R Manikumar (Ward-43) entered the House with a pot-filled with muddy water and a lantern symbolising the state-of-affairs in his ward.