By the dint of its brute majority in the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) Council, the BJD’s corporators on Monday managed to officially accept the resignation of Anita Behera, who had resigned from the post of Mayor recently.
Behera’s resignation was passed by a voice vote within four minutes without holding any discussion on it after it was tabled by Deputy Mayor Ajay Barik.
The Congress and BJP Corporators vehemently opposed the manner in which the resignation of the tainted Mayor was accepted without any discussion on the cause and contents of the resignation letter.
Notably, after it was revealed that Behera had managed to obtain a ration card in her name under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) to receive subsidised food grains, she resigned from the posts of Mayor and Corporator on December 29.
Even as the opposition corporators demanded a discussion on the proposal, the Deputy Mayor, without paying heed to them, declared the special council meeting closed and rushed out of the hall along with other party corporators.
“This is highhandedness and undemocratic on the part of BJD members in passing such an important proposal without discussion, and we demand fresh elections to the council after dismissing the present one,” said Congress Corporator Giribala Behera. All BJP and some independent corporators also echoed similar feelings.