Thanjavur council meeting ends abruptly as DMK Mayor faces party men’s ire

TIRUCHY: High drama prevailed at the Thanjavur Corporation Council meeting on Monday after the DMK members were up against the Mayor, hailing from their own party, alleging irregularities.

The DMK’s council members protested during the council meeting, charging that the Mayor is failing to convene the meeting as per norms, forcing the Mayor to end the council meeting abruptly.

Soon after the Corporation council meeting, chaired by Mayor S Ramanathan in the presence of the Commissioner Kannan and Deputy Mayor Anjugam Boopathy, began, DMK member Venkatesan (ward 12) intervened and claimed that the meeting was not convened as per the norms. He charged that the Mayor has been acting on his own without discussing with the members, even from the ruling DMK. Instead of sending agenda copies at least six days before the meeting, a copy was sent just two days before, he alleged. He added that 20 members didn’t get copies at all.

However, the commissioner Kannan clarified that the regulation allows convening meetings just three days after the distribution of the agenda copy. The commissioner assured that the copy would be sent six days prior to the scheduled meeting.

Mayor Ramanathan said that the delay was due to the non-cooperation from the council members. The Mayor claimed that the members are submitting their demands late, which causes the delay in preparing the agenda and thus delays the distribution of copies.

But the DMK member Anand didn’t accept the argument and charged that the mayor has been taking arbitrary decisions. He does not follow the norms but tries to control the members by force, he alleged and walked out, saying, “This meeting can be considered to be invalid.” 20 DMK members followed him.

AIADMK member Kannukkiniyal asked the DMK members to stay as she needed to discuss a few demands for her ward, which triggered an altercation between the members of the rival parties. Soon, Mayor Ramanathan declared that all resolutions had been passed, even as members were still wrangling in a heated argument.

Subsequently, the members from DMK, AIADMK and BJP went to meet the commissioner. They staged a dharna in front of the commissioner’s office, demanding that the meeting be cancelled and that the resolutions be withdrawn.

Later, Mayor Ramanathan told the media persons that there was an adequate number of members who supported the resolutions, and so they were passed. “The demands of the members would be fulfilled, and in the upcoming meetings, the copies would be distributed well ahead of the meeting,” the Mayor said.