New Market land triggers chaos

A PROPOSAL to lease out a precious land in New Market near TT Nagar police station triggered pandemonium in the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) general body meeting with Congress opposing the move and the BJP equally vehemently supporting it. Eventually, majority prevailed and the proposal was cleared.

A PROPOSAL to lease out a precious land in New Market near TT Nagar police station triggered pandemonium in the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) general body meeting with Congress opposing the move and the BJP equally vehemently supporting it. Eventually, majority prevailed and the proposal was cleared. 

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Congress corporators vociferously argued that since the New Market Masjid Committee is also claiming the disputed land in the court, it can not be leased out under the builders promoters scheme. On the other hand, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporators favoured the proposal to lease out the BMC land to one Malvika Builders and Colonisers Private Limited.

As the proposal was presented for discussion in the House, Congress corporators including Amir Aqueel, Mohammed Rafiq, Mohammed Shahid, Mohammed Sarwar and others raised objection  saying that it could not be discussed as the Masjid Committee has filed a petition in the court. This provoked the BJP corporators to stand up and argue that the BMC was not apprised about any court case in this regard.

Meanwhile, some Congress corporators reached the well of the house and started raising slogans. Some of them even tried to overturn the table of BMC chairman Ramdayal Prajapati.

Amidst the ruckus, Mayor Sunil Sood tried to pacify the members. He quoted section 29 of the Municipal Corporation Act and said that any proposal included in the supplementary agenda could be discussed in the meeting only after consent of one-third members of the house. However, the BMC chairman rejected this plea and declared approval of this proposal with majority.

In the 66-member house, the BJP has majority with 40 members. This again stirred the Congress corporators, who surrounded the speaker and one of them, Mohammed Rafiq, even snatched mike of the speaker and tried to overturn the table.

This audacity sparked off fresh furore among BJP corporators and marshals gathered at the chair in favour of the speaker’s ruling.

Some of the BJP corporators also gathered around the Mayor and started shouting slogans against him. On the other hand, Congress corporators raised slogans against Prajapati. Amidst the ruckus, the speaker declared the meeting adjourned sine die.