Unruly scenes were witnessed on the first day of the first meeting of the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun board on Thursday after BJP councillors manhandled the Mukhya Nagar Adhikari (MNA) Ashok Kumar and tried to physically remove him from the meeting hall. The Congress councillors came to defend the MNA which resulted in heated exchanges between councillors of the rival parties.
While the Congress councillors walked out of the board meeting in protest against the actions of the BJP councillors, MCD workers, too, came out in support of the MNA stressing that misbehaviour with an officer or employee of the municipal corporation will not be tolerated by the municipal staff. The municipal staff boycotted work in protest against the treatment meted out to the MNA. The PAC was deployed in the MCD compound to prevent the situation from deteriorating.
As soon as the board meeting began, BJP councillors started raising slogans against the MNA and demanded his removal from office. The dissent escalated with BJP councillors manhanding the officer. The Mayor tried to diffuse the situation but could not succeed. Kumar somehow managed to exit the room but the protesting councillors followed him. They protested for sometime outside the office of Mayor Vinod Chamoli after which they broke a shed erected outside the MNA’s office.
While they were protesting against Kumar, municipal staff came out in support of the MNA and boycotted work in protest while raising slogans. The Congress councillors also protested against the unruly behaviour. leader of Opposition in the MCD Neenu Sehgal said that the councillors should have protested in a civilized manner while stressing that public representatives should not indulge in rowdy behaviour.
However, BJP councillors, including Amita Singh, alleged that the MNA is hampering execution of development works in the city. They said that the MNA is often not available when councillors seek appointment to discuss official issues and demanded his removal from office.
MCD employees leader Nam Bahadur said that the councillors should not think that municipal staff will tolerate misbehaviour with officers and staff. This was the first time when board members had manhandled the MNA, he added. The 11-point agenda for the board meeting was eclipsed by the ruckus created by councillors on the first day of the MCD Board meeting.