Siliguri civic board dissolved after chairman election

Pinak Priya Bhattacharya, TNN | Mar 14, 2013, SILIGURI: The municipal board of Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) was dissolved by the mayor on Wednesday after former chairman Nantu Pal, a Trinamool Congress candidate, was re-elected to the post of the chairman. 

The Congress and the Left Front have termed the election as unconstitutional and may take the legal route. The Trinamool have, however, said the polls were legal and criticized the mayor for dissolving the board without consulting the party. 

Trouble had been brewing at the civic body ever since Pal, who had become the municipality chairman on a Congress ticket, decided to join the Trinamool in September last year. 

Though Pal continued as the chairman, the Congress and the Left Front demanded his removal under the anti-defection law. 

Accordingly, on February 14, a no-confidence vote was held in which the chairman was defeated. 

The election for the new chairman was slated for Wednesday. While the Left Front had decided to stay away from the election, the Congress leadership too did not attend the meeting despite fielding its candidate. 

In the absence of the 14 Congress and 17 Left councillors, Pal got 15 votes of the Trinamool councillors and was elected the chairman. 

But soon after, Gangotri Dutta, the Congress mayor, exercised the power conferred upon her under Section 20 (C) of the West Bengal Municipal Corporation Act 2006 and removed the responsibilities of the deputy mayor and mayor-in-council members. 

Sankar Malakar, the Darjeeling Congress district president, said the election convened by the SMC commissioner was illegal since it did not meet the requisite quorum. "The presence of at least 16 councillors was needed required to meet the quorum. But only 15 Trinamool councillors were present," he said. The SMC has 47 councillors, one-third of whom need to be present to elect the chairman. 

Ashok Bhattacharya, a senior CPM leader and former municipal affairs minister accused chief minister Mamata Banerjee of masterminding the plot. "The election of the chairman was illegal and unconstitutional," he said. He said that the Left Front will go to the court to challenge the election. 

Accusing SMC commissioner P D Pradhan and ADM Tapan Burman of acting under the instruction of the government, Bhattacharya said, "The two officers allowed an illegal election to be conducted and administered the oath of allegiance to the illegally-elected chairman." 

The Trinamool denied the allegations. "The election for the post of chairman was legal. The mayor should have consulted the Trinamool before removing the responsibilities of the deputy mayor and mayor-in-council members since the board is jointly run by the Congress and the Trinamool," said Trinamool general secretary Mukul Roy. 

The ongoing disorder in the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) got further complicated on Wednesday after the Trinamool Congress candidate won the election for the vacant post of the chairman and the mayor removed the responsibility of deputy mayor and mayors-in-council with immediate effect. 

On Wednesday, Nantu Paul the former chairman, who was defeated in no confidence vote on February 14, got 15 votes of TMC councillors while the 14 councillors of the Congress and the 17 of the Left Front refrained from the meeting convened to hold the election for the vacant post of the chairman. 

Though the Congress had also fielded its candidate, the party leadership decided not to attend the meeting convened to hold the election. The Left Front had already decided that it would not be a party to the election. 

In the absence of the Congress and the Left Front councillors, the election for the vacant post of the chairman was held through secret ballot in which Paul was declared elected. Both the Congress and the Left Front have termed the election as illegal and unconstitutional and have decided to move to Calcutta High Court. 

Sankar Malakar, the Darjeeling Congress district president said that the election was illegal as the meeting convened by the SMC commissioner did not meet the requisite quorum. "At least the presence of 16 councillors was required to meet the quorum. But only 15 TMC councillors were present," he said. The SMC has 47 councillors and its one third is the presence of 16 councillors. 

According to Malakar said conducting the meeting when the requisite quorum was not met itself was unconstitutional. 

Nantu Paul was elected as the councillor on the Congress ticket and became the SMC chairman. But, he left the Congress and joined the TMC on September 26 last year and continued to become the chairman while both the Congress and the Left Front demanded his removal from the post of the chairman under anti-defection law. 

A no trust vote was held on February 14 this year and Paul was removed from the chairman's post after he was defeated. 

Ashok Bhattacharya, a senior CPM leader and former municipal affairs minister accused the chief minister, Mamata Banerjee of masterminding the plot. "The election of the chairman was illegal and unconstitutional as the election meeting did not meet the quorum," he said. He alleged that the state government by using the state machinery has plotted in the SMC and said that the Left Front would go to the court to challenge the election. 

He also accused the SMC commissioner P D Pradhan and ADM Tapan Burman for acting under the instruction of the government. 

"The two officers allowed the illegal election to be held and administered the oath of allegiance to the illegally elected chairman and we will also make them parties in the court case," he said. 

Immediately after the election, Gangotri Dutta, the Congress mayor exercised the power conferred upon her under section 20 (C) of West Bengal Municipal Corporation Act 2006 and removed the responsibility of deputy mayor and mayors-in-council. 

Trinamool Congress, however, has stated the election to be fair and just. 

"The election for the post of chairman was held legally. The mayor should have consulted the TMC before removing the responsibilities of deputy mayor and mayors-in-council as the board is jointly run by the Congress and the TMC," said Mukul Roy, TMC general secretary speaking to the media at North Bengal Medical College and Hospital.: