Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Firhad Hakim resigned from his post as mayor of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) on Friday.
“Firhad Hakim is not a nobody. It is a chair that calls for respect. Respected personalities have sat on this chair in the past. When I was Municipal Affairs Minister and Mayor, I was managing it (KMC) well. I was providing relief to people. This is not possible now. I cannot disrespect the chair. I cannot cling to the chair while being a soldier carrying weapons and shields. It would be disrespectful to those revered personalities. That is why I have decided to resign,” Hakim said after the resignation.
This comes two days after TMC spokesman Kunal Ghosh told the media that Al-Hakim had sought permission from party chief Mamata Banerjee to resign from the mayor’s post and that she had agreed to do so.
Hakim said: “I asked permission from the leader of our party to step down with dignity from the position of mayor of the city. She agreed to that.”
Al-Hakim has served as mayor since 2018. He also served as the state’s Minister of Urban Development and Municipal Affairs.
“My best wishes to those who will take charge. They may run the civic body better than me. Many may criticize. But our job is to run the civic body transparently and fulfill the wishes of the people. I would like to urge the new government and the Prime Minister to fulfill the aspirations of the people. We are all here to serve the people. The people will choose those who work best. That is why I will vacate the chair,” Hakim said.
Meanwhile, Krishna Chakraborty resigned from the post of mayor of Bidhannagar on Thursday, and Ram Chakraborty had earlier resigned from the post of mayor of Chandanagar.
After the BJP swept the Assembly elections and came to power on May 9, several TMC leaders resigned from various posts in civic bodies across the state. The list includes presidents, vice-presidents, ward councilors and district heads of at least 10 municipalities and municipal corporations.
Earlier in May, at least two mayors of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation resigned from their posts. On Tuesday, the city council member submitted his resignation.
Several TMC leaders, including district council members, have also been arrested across multiple civilian agencies since May 9 on charges of corruption, extortion, threatening people, and their alleged role in the clashes that followed the 2021 elections.
West Bengal has 128 civic bodies, all led by the TMC. While seven of them are municipal corporations (Kolkata, Siliguri, Asansol, Durgapur, Howrah, Bidhannagar and Chandanagore), the rest are municipalities. Elections for all these civic bodies are likely to be held by the end of this year. The civic bodies were TMC citadels.
“Several TMC councilors in civic bodies across West Bengal have resigned over the past few days. In many civic bodies, TMC members have not reached their posts and have stopped working. The monsoon season is approaching. This only reflects their irresponsibility. We have had to appoint administrators in at least 25 civic bodies to manage these civic bodies,” state Municipal Affairs Minister Agnimitra Paul had earlier told HT.
