Utter chaos and pandemonium prevailed in the council meeting of Rajahmundry Municipal Corporation (RMC) on Wednesday.
Rajahmundry Rural MLA Gorantla Butchaiah Chowdary and YSR Congress MLC Adireddy Appa Rao were engaged in a heated exchange even as members of the two parties indulged in jostling and pushing one another. The trouble broke out on the issue of sharing of seats in the council hall as a free for all ensued in the meeting for a few minutes prompting the police to intervene and pacify the members. As the members were engaged in heated exchanges, a TDP corporator allegedly manhandled his YSR Congress counterpart in the Well of the House.
Mayor Pantam Rajani Sesha Sai who chaired the meeting initiated the proceedings when YSRC floor leader M. Sharmila Reddy, her party colleagues Minidi Nagendra and G. Muralidhara Rao raised objection to some of the TDP members and Independents occupying seats allotted to them. TDP floor leader Varre Srinivas, Deputy Mayor Vasireddy Rambabu argued that there was direction from the Mayor about seat allocation in the previous meetings and as such, members could sit in any chair in the hall.
YSRC corporator Bontur Srihari rushed to the well of the hall in front of Mayor’s Chair.
The Mayor later asked the Municipal Commissioner and Special Officer for Pushkarams Mr. J. Murali to introduce resolutions as per agenda, for which both ruling and opposition took strong objection.
Finally, the Mayor Mrs. Rajani announced that all the resolutions including Pushkram works were passed.
When the situation appeared going beyond control, TDP MLA and ex-officio member Butchaiah Chowdary came in support of TDP Corporators while Mr. Adireddy Apparao sided the YSRC members.
