Cong-Trinamool split shows up in KMC

On Monday,when Mayor Biksh Ranjan Bhattacharya started reading his budget speech,Javed Ahmed Khan,the leader of the Opposition,raised a point of order,demanding the mayor should present an interim budget or a vote-on-account to allow the new body to be set up in next two months to present the final budget.

KMC chairman Nirmal Mukherjee,however,shot down the proposal following which the Trinamool members walked out. Before trooping out,Arup Biswas,a Trinamool MLA,tore off the budget statement of the mayor.

Reacting to the walkout,Pradip Ghosh,leader of the Congress municipal party,said: “Trinamool leaders are highly qualified but we are half-literate. So they have taken the decision on their own. Since they do not consider us as the Opposition,they did not discuss the matter with us before walking out. We will report their attitude to our senior leadership.”

Khan said,“Presenting the budget before the election is illegal,for which the civic authorities have to pass the Schedule of Establishment as per the 1980 KMC Act. But it has not been done. We had to protest against the illegal act and so we decided to walk out and for that no discussion with Congress was needed.”

Bhattacharya said,“As per Section 634 of the KMC Act,there is a provision called Difficulty Removal. If the Schedule of Establishment is not passed due to some unavoidable circumstances,the government can give its permission after which the KMC budget can be presented in the House. So,there is no legal flaw. Trinamool walked out of the House to create a scene,which is not legally justified.”