BJP members boycott ZP meeting

Bharatiya Janata Party members staged a walk out from the Zilla Panchayat's general body meeting accusing the district administration of ignoring the Zilla Panchayat.

The BJP-dominated Zilla Panchayat members argued that despite passing resolutions, issues like the row over sand mining, toll collection and others were left unattended.

Members Raghvendra and Reshma Uday Kumar Shetty charged that the deputy commissioner is not keen on involving the members in discussions on issues like the toll collection and sand problem.

Zilla Panchayat vice president Sheela Shetty charged that district-level Rajyotsava award ceremony and the Zilla Panchayat meeting were held on the same day to prevent members from attending the Rajyotsava award ceremony.

The members also raised slogans against the district administration. The BJP members staged a walk out paying no attention to the repeated pleas on returning to their seats from the president and the standing committee members.

Congress members, led by Janardhan Thonse, who is the Opposition leader, defended the deputy commissioner and said she is implementing the programmes being decided by the government.

The meeting was delayed by 30 minutes as BJP members did not arrive on time. Later, the meeting began at 11.30 am only to end with BJP members boycotting the meeting.

Earlier, the members discussed about enforcing a ban on the usage of plastic in the district. Thonse and Marali alleged that the action was taken only against petty shops and not against the retails outlets. Thonse added that it is not sufficient if the government programmes avoid the use of plastics. It should also be strictly imposed across the district, he stressed.