The chaotic Budget session of the Kochi Corporation on Tuesday seems to have opened a new warfront between the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) going beyond the civic body with charges flying thick and fast between the two sides.
At a media briefing held in his chamber shortly after the stormy session, Mayor M. Anilkumar dubbed the alleged physical attack on Deputy Mayor K.A. Ansiya as a manifestation of the increasing criminalisation of the UDF politics in the district under its new leadership. Without taking names, he said a UDF councillor remanded in a criminal case was among those who led the UDF charge in the council.
“Grooming such criminal elements will not be good for politics in Kochi and Ernakulam. After a point even the UDF leaders [among the Opposition] seemed helpless. They have the right to protest, but the physical attack on a woman Deputy Mayor should be seen against the backdrop of the UDF leadership in Ernakulam,” he said and cited his headless posters displayed by UDF councillors to further drive home his point.
Mr. Anilkumar said the UDF had set an unusual precedent sending a wrong message to people about politics. Encroaching on the Mayor’s dais had never happened in the history of the Corporation. He said had he not left the council hall without insisting on his introductory address, then things would have turned even nastier.
However, Mr. Anilkumar was quick to deny that he was hinting at District Congress Committee president Mohammed Shiyas but attributed the change in UDF politics to its collective leadership. “However, Shiyas needs to realise that there are people who would foist the charge on him,” he said.
Mr. Shiyas shot down the Mayor’s comment on criminalisation of politics by the UDF as baseless. “In fact, it is the CPI(M) that has criminalised politics and frequently violated democratic norms,” he said and accused the party and the Mayor of hanging on to power by any means and exploiting the Corporation for monetary gains. He alleged corruption running into crores on the pretext of waste management.
“Democratic protests within the council against attempts to pass a Budget without the approval of the Finance Committee is only natural. The UDF is not party to the rift between the CPI(M) and CPI. In fact, the inability of the Mayor to keep even the allies together betrays his ineptitude. He is the biggest failure among the Mayors the city ever had,” Mr. Shiyas said.
Antony Kureethara, the Opposition leader in the Corporation council, attributed the melee during the Budget session to the incompetence of the Mayor. “The Mayor’s obstinacy that the Deputy Mayor should read the Budget led to the situation. We had no issue about either him or the Secretary reading the Budget,” he said.
He further said the Mayor’s comment about criminalisation of politics by the UDF was borne out of his lack of awareness about politics.
