35 TMC councillors move no-confidence motion against Bidhannagar Mayor Sabyasachi Dutta

Kolkata, July 10: Trinamool Congress (TMC) councillors signed a no-confidence document against Bidhannagar Mayor Sabyasachi Dutta and submitted it to Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation Chairman on Tuesday requesting him to convene a Special Board meeting to consider a resolution for removal of the Mayor.

Thirty five out of 39 Trinamool councillors submitted a no-confidence motion against Dutta to Krishna Chakraborty, the chairperson of BMC. Chakraborty said she would send the letter regarding the same to the joint Municipal Commissioner as the Municipal Commissioner Pritha Sarkar is indisposed.

"The elected councillors of Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, have lost confidence over the activities of Sabyasachi Dutta, present Mayor of Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation. His manner of functioning has lost our confidence," read the letter submitted by the TMC councillors.

The Chairman will now pass it on to the Commissioner following which a board meeting on the issue of no-confidence motion is likely to be discussed on July 18. Dutta himself received a copy of the letter on Tuesday evening.

In that board meeting, Mayor Sabyasachi Dutta could likely be asked to vacate his seat. Bidhannagar Mayor Sabyasachi Dutta was seen with BJP leader Mukul Roy on Sunday evening, hours after Dutta was not invited for a meeting with Bidhannagar councillors.

State Urban Development minister Firhad Hakim had asked Dutta to tender his resignation on Monday. Earlier on Sunday, Hakim met councillors of BMC at Trinamool Bhavan and discussed about the anti-party activities of Dutta.

On Friday, the BMC Mayor had addressed a meeting which was organised by some employees of West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Limited (WBSEDCL), where he had demanded that the due DA of the employees be cleared immediately.

Following Dutta's statement, both Hakim and Trinamool Congress secretary general Partha Chatterjee had criticised him for breaking the discipline of the party.

"Hakim had said that "nobody should consider himself bigger than the party, "while Chatterjee had said that "the silence of the party should be not be considered its weakness."

There are 41 councillors in BMC, of which 39 belong to Trinamool Congress. To get the no-confidence motion passed, the nod of 21 councillors will be required.