Margao civic chairperson quits ahead of trust vote

Margao: A day ahead of the no confidence motion (NCM) moved against him, Margao Municipal Council (MMC) chairperson Ghanashyam Shirodkar on Thursday stepped down from his post. He submitted his resignation to the director of municipal administration.

Shirodkar was elected chairperson on September 16, defeating Damodar Shirodkar, Margao MLA Digambar Kamat’s nominee, 15-10. Left red-faced over cross-voting by BJP-affiliated councillors, all the 15 BJP-affiliated councillors were made to sign a no confidence motion against him, hours after the election and it was submitted to the DMA on September 19.

After submitting his resignation, Ghanashyam once again hit out at Kamat for what he said was his “political ego” that led him to force the councillors to swear on coconut before Dev Dambab that they hadn’t cross voted.

Stating that this was not the right way to guide councillors, most of whom were elected for the first time, Ghanashyam said that Kamat as well as chief minister Pramod Sawant not to meddle in the affairs of civic bodies.

He said that if voting on the motion was to be held by secret ballot instead of show of hands, he would have defeated the motion. “However, I didn’t want to put the councillors in a dilemma or pressurise anybody to vote for me. Rather, I thought it would be better for me to resign and go,” Ghanashyam told reporters.

Pointing out to inconsistencies in the law governing election of chairperson of municipalities, Ghanashyam said he would move the court seeking laying down of guidelines in the law pertaining to conduct of elections.

“As the existing law, the chairperson is elected by secret ballot but a no confidence motion is decided by show of hands. This needs to be removed and guidelines need to be laid down by law” he said.

He said that there a need to amendment the law that would prohibit ouster of a chairperson for at least six months from his election.