Vijayawada: Confusion had taken place at the council meeting of Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) on Friday, when the YSRC corporators raised the allegations on Mayor Koneru Sreedhar for reportedly misusing power to get contract works for Krishna Pushkaralu.
This incident has led to the suspension of YSRC corporators from the council meeting as they levelled corruption allegations against the Mayor’s wife also.
The opposition corporators led by council floor leader B. Punyaseela demanded that Mayor Koneru Sreedhar own moral responsibility and quit from his post for benefiting his family members with contracts being in a respective post. They also raised slogans and stalled the council meeting. Irked by the comments, Mayor Sreedhar suspended 14 YSRC corporators.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Sreedhar denied the allegations made by the YSRC leaders of misusing his power to get the contracts. He said his wife was one of the directors of the firm and he does not know that KMK firm had got the contract for Krishna Pushkaralu works. He said that allegations levelled by YSRC leaders were baseless and there was no need to discuss the issue which was not mentioned in the agenda.
Tension prevailed at the council hall when the opposition corporators were forcibly lifted by the marshals. Later, they staged a protest outside the council hall with black badges. Former minister and YSRC leader K. Partha-sarathy joined the protest with the corporators and condemned the indifferent attitude of the mayor.
Speaking to media, Ms Punyaseela said that the mayor’s wife was honorary president of the KMK firm, which secured Pushkaralu contract works worth Rs 5 crore for construction of Pushkara Nagars and supply of food to the pilgrims.
Meanwhile, ruling TD corporators also raised the issue before the mayor at the VMC council meeting. They expressed dissatisfaction over many sanitation workers skipping their duties and wanted the officials to deploy more sanitation workers, especially in slums. The mayor also joined them in accusing the VMC chief medical and health officer Dr M. Gopi Naik and sanitary inspectors for their indifferent attitude.
