Opposition irate over Hubballi-Dharwad mayor not wearing ceremonial gown to council meet

Mayor Iresh Anchatgeri invited the Opposition’s ire on Friday when he chaired the Hubballi-Dharwad Mahanagara Palike (HDMP) general body meeting without wearing his mayoral gown.

The Hubballi-Dharwad mayor had to adjourn the meeting amidst mounting chaos, as the members of the Opposition remained firm in their demand that the meeting could only properly begin once Anchatgeri donned his gown.

Although Anchatgeri is said to have given up the practice of wearing the gown while receiving constitutional authorities, this was the first general body (council) meeting where he appeared without the garb. This was also the first such act of a mayor defying “protocol” in the history of the HDMP.

Alleging that Anchatgeri was showing disrespect to the post of mayor by breaking tradition, Congress and AIMIM corporators argued with him, staged protest and raised slogans. Anchatgeri suggested they take up the condolence motion first, and to discuss other issues later.

The Opposition, however, continued the protest. After the mayor adjourned the meeting for while, a few Bharatiya Janata Party corporators also held talks with him.

Even after the meeting resumed after an hour’s recess, the protest against him not wearing the gown continued, and Anchatgeri had to adjourn the meeting sine die.

Congress corporators continued their agitation in the meeting hall and sat there in protest for a couple of more hours.

Anchatgeri later said that a mayor wearing a gown is British culture, and announced that Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has asked him to stop this practice.

“The chief minister has assured to issue an order not to wear the gown and the order is expected within a week. There is no rule which says that the mayor should wear the gown. We had to do away with irrelevant British practices one by one,” Anchatgeri said.

According to him, mayors of Shivamogga and several places in other states have stopped wearing the gown. “I came to know about this recently, and I stopped wearing the gown after the chief minister asked me to do so. A memorandum to put an end to the gown culture is also submitted to the government,” he announced.

Anchatgeri also said that he would resume wearing the gown only if the government rejects his request and asks him to wear the gown compulsorily.

Anchatgeri wore the gown when he became the mayor on May 28; he was in the customary gown while chairing council meetings in June, July and August.

However, he didn’t wear it while receiving the chief minister at the airport on September 4, or when he welcomed President Droupadi Murmu at the airport on September 26. He was also without the mayoral gown when he accorded a civic honour to President Murmu during an event.