Chaos ruled the roost in the Mayurbhanj Zilla Parishad meeting here on Wednesday. The situation came to such a sorry pass that at least three BJP Zilla Parishad Members were injured and hospitalised.
The district BJP demanded immediate transfer of the Collector accusing him of partisan behaviour and injuring the ZP members.
When the ZP meeting began, the BJP ZP members, at first, raised the issue of Collector being indifferent to them and to the public issues they have been raising for quite some time now. Ignoring people’s representatives is unacceptable and the Collector should beg apology for the same, they insisted. As district Collector Surendra Kumar Meena refused to do so, all the 49 BJP ZP members and two others (1 JMM & 1 Independent), out of a total of 56, resorted to a “peaceful walk-out”. Zilla Parishad President Sujata Murmu too, sensing the situation, came out of the house, having postponed the meeting.
However, even after the postponement of the meeting, the Collector went ahead with it and chose two other ZP members as President and Vice-president. Protesting, the BJP ZP Members started picketing outside the DRDA hall where the meeting was going on. After some time, Meena, along with MlAs Sudam Marandi, Bhadav Hansda and Praveen Chandra Bhanjdeo, came out of the hall, trampling upon the protesting ZP members. Consequently, Sarina Hembram, ZP Member of Zone No. 10 of Badampahar Block, Geeta Hembram, ZP Member of Zone No. 49 of Samakhunta Block and Samay Purty, ZP Member of Zone No. 7 of Karanjia Block were injured and were immediately rushed to the local PRM Medical College and Hospital.
They were undergoing treatment and FIRs were lodged in this regard, according to latest reports.
The political atmosphere here is now tense, with the saffron party planning to go for a series of agitational activities against the Collector.