Allies on a warpath in Kharagpur civic body

31 January 2012

biswabrata goswami
MIDNAPORE, 31 JAN: At a time when relations between the Trinamul Congress and the Congress are going through rough weather over various issues, the strained ties between the two allies have come to the fore in the Kharagpur civic body in West Midnapore district.
The Congress has threatened to withdraw support from the Trinamul Congress-led municipal board over favouritism to some contractors. The Mamata Banerjee-led party, however, refused to budge. District Trinamul Congress leaders said if the Congress withdraws its support in Kharagpur, they will follow suit in the 18 municipalities where the Congress is in power with Trinamul support.
The Trinamul Congress chairman of Kharagpur civic body, Jawahar Paul, has refused to step down from his post saying "he is ready to face a no-confidence motion". "The Congress councillors have reached an understanding with the CPI-M. They are conspiring to dislodge the board for sometime now. They have brought corruption charges against us," said Mr Paul.
He, however, said the 19-month-old board has been working in a transparent manner. "As Miss Mamata Banerjee has nominated me, I will not quit until she asks me to do so," said Mr Paul. The problem started a few months ago, when a few Congress councillors raised fingers at the chairman for favouring some contractors who belong to the Trinamul Congress.
Mr Rabi Sankar Pandey, a Congress councillor and former chairman of the Kharagpur civic body, said: “We have not yet taken a final call on the no-confidence motion. The local party unit has decided so. Now we are waiting for the final decision from the Pradesh Congress committee."
Mr Pandey said: “The Trinamul-led board is involved in corrupt practices while purchasing essential equipment. Tractors are being purchased with sanction, electrical equipment are being bought for more than their printed price and Rs 14 lakh is being spent on a boundary wall around a vacant field.”
The Congress members alleged corruption by the board as the reason behind the withdrawal of support. Two CPI-M councillors ~ Venkat Ramnath (ward no. 13) and B Murli Rao (ward no. 15) ~ and Independent councillor Satya Deo Sharma (ward no 19), have defected from their parties and joined the Congress. “Out of 35 seats, Congress bagged 12, while Trinamul had 14 seats. After the defections, the Congress' tally reached 15 which is on a par with the Trinamul’s strength of 14 councillors, along with an Independent.
As the CPI-M still has one councillor, CPI three and the BJP one, there is a clear absence of majority which has pushed the Congress to rethink its decision," said a municipality official.