The Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) council meeting on Monday witnessed uproarious scenes as opposition Corporators insisted on a demand for a probe into the inclusion of Mayor Anita Behara’s name in the beneficiary list under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
The opposition members stuck to their guns even after the Mayor expressed ignorance and regrets over her name mentioned in the list. The situation came to such an extent that glasses were hurled, desks overturned and furniture broken amid sloganeering.
“I am unaware of inclusion of my name in the NFSA beneficiary list. I disapprove of this. My family members might have erroneously done this,” the Mayor said.
However, the opposition Corporators demanded that an inquiry should be conducted to establish who the Mayor’s name was included in the list.
“This indicates that many undeserving people have been issued ration cards and deserving ones have been left out. An appropriate probe is our demand,” said the opposition Corporators.
Meanwhile, the CMC Commissioner has announced a probe into the incident. A three-member team would probe into the allegations, sources said.
It may be recalled that similar scenes were witnessed during council meeting on October 31. The BJD and Congress Corporators were engaged in a bitter fight over discrepancies in the distribution of ration cards.
Meanwhile, the BJP has slammed the BJD Government for alleged irregularities in distribution of NFSA ration cards. “From mentioning of the CMC Mayor’s name in the list, it has been clear that 75,000 ration card holders, who were getting PDS items earlier, have been deprived of NFSA cards and ruling party leaders have grabbed the facility,” alleged BJP spokesperson Sajjan Sharma in a statement.
He demanded that the Chief Minister, who had pleaded Cuttack denizens to vote for Anita Behera, should expel her first and then order a special probe to establish how and under what circumstances Behera and her family members were issued ration cards. Gurgaon kidnap