Kolkata (West Bengal) [India]: Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Friday took a jibe at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for appointing party leader Firhad Hakim as the new mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and said that he has ruined the city. Speaking to ANI, Adhikari said, “Everyone knows that the Mayor (Firhad Hakim) has ruined whole Kolkata. There is a ‘mini-Pakistan’ in the city. There is no hope and no ground reality of his works here. This city has become a disaster financially.” Earlier on Thursday, Firhad Hakim was declared the new mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation after TMC registered a landslide victory in Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC). Atin Ghosh has been declared as the Deputy Mayor of the corporation. TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee said to the elected councillors that in order to ensure effective working on councillors’ part, the work of Kolkata Corporation will be reviewed every six months. “State Election Commission and police worked well in conducting peaceful elections. Kolkata Corporation report card will be reviewed after every 6 months. If someone is not working, the government will take action against them,” said Mamata. Praising the judgement of Calcutta High Court for allowing polls in the remaining municipal corporations, he said, “Calcutta HC has given a good judgement today. It should be welcomed by all that the polls in remaining municipal corporations will take place.” The State Election Commission has informed the Calcutta High Court on Thursday that it is ready to hold polls in the remaining municipal corporations. Hitting out at TMC over Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections, Adhikari said, “I will not comment much on the results of the poll. They had EVM and divided the Opposition parties. They themselves took 134 seats. A legal battle is going on.” The Calcutta High Court has given a strong message to the State Election Commission in the case registered on the basis of allegations of unrest in the Kolkata elections. Following this, the state election commission has been directed by the court to preserve all the CCTVs used in the Kolkata elections, not just the presiding officer’s diary, voter’s signature and hand impressions. The next hearing will be on January 6, 2022.
