No-trust move against Sunita Sampath on cards?

Tandur: The ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and the Majlis-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (MIM) are apparently moving pawns on political chess board to unseat municipal chairperson Sunita Sampath of Congress by moving a no-confidence motion against her. The TRS and MIM are learnt to have been working together stepping up efforts to unseat Sunita in the last year of the civic body’s tenure.

Local MLA allegedly informed about it to the Transport Minister P Mahender Reddy and ‘got the clearance’ to move the motion. Efforts are under way to serve a resolution on moving the motion to the RDO. In the municipal polls held in 2014, neither the TRS nor the MIM got majority. They came to a power via a power-sharing agreement to rule the civic body two and half years each. Accordingly, TRS candidate Vijayalakshmi became the municipal chairperson. At the end of her two and half years’ tenure Minister Mahender Reddy made her resign. In the interval, taking advantage of the groupism in the MIM, Sunita of Congress managed to become municipal chairperson to the astonishment of the MIM.

Efforts are on to ensure the MIM candidate become the chairperson at least in the last year of the five-year rule by patching up between the MIM rival groups. Meanwhile, reports of Congress, TRS and a faction of the MIM councillors are seething with anger with the style of functioning of Sunita. She was accused of not maintaining cordial ties with councilors and also criticized for ‘unilateral style of functioning’. Six councilors, including vice-chairman and a leader of MIM rival faction Asif, were understood to have abstained from the recent general body meeting of the civic body.

Speaking to The Hans India, Sunita quoted the by-laws and exuded confidence of regaining the power in spite of moving the no-trust move. She described the move as a ploy by her rivals to meet their selfish goals. Stating that the news reached her, she said that it was impossible to unseat her through the motion. Quoting the relevant by-laws, she analysed that the municipal chairperson can take oath only twice in a five-year tenure and the same has been accomplished. Therefore, the no-trust move would fall through on technical grounds, she said.