COIMBATORE: Tension flared at the Salem corporation council meeting on Friday when mayor A Ramachandran, who belongs to DMK, refused to conduct the proceedings, insisting that the chair of deputy mayor Saradha Devi, who belongs to Congress, be moved from the dais.
The council meeting of Salem corporation, scheduled to begin at 11am, started 20 minutes late after the mayor entered the hall. Because i am a woman, she said, “The mayor does not give me the respect I deserve. Upon returning to the council hall, mayor Ramachandran announced that all resolutions were postponed due to the disruption.
“I will not conduct this meeting where I am not given the authority,” Ramachandran said. Instead of taking his designated seat, the mayor sat among the councillors and declared that he would not preside over the session. He stated that during the previous council meeting, he had ordered to remove the deputy mayor’s seat from near the mayor’s chair. However, he alleged that the Salem corporation commissioner overruled his directive and insisted on retaining deputy mayor’s chair next to that of the mayor. The deadlock remained unresolved. He left the hall after that. However, Saradha Devi continued her protest.
Tension between Congress and DMK councillors started after the national party left the DMK alliance to join the TVK govt in the state in May.