Kolkata: Former mayor Firhad Hakim on Thursday welcomed the proposed reorganisation of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) wards but urged the govt to ensure that the exercise does not end up “impacting a specific religious community”. His remarks triggered a furore in the Assembly, with Hakim getting into a heated exchange with BJP MLAs.“I am not objecting to reorganisation of the wards. But the question is what has prompted the reorganisation of wards and how will that impact representation from the people… There should not be any attempt to weaken a community politically,” he said.Hakim questioned whether “the govt tried to impact a specific religious community through the reorganisation process”, while stressing the need to consider population equality, geographical, social and demographic factors.“There is administrative compulsion for reorganisation of the wards, but we will also have to keep in mind factors like population equality, geographical contingency, social and demographic character,” Hakim said. “Delimitation is not just about drawing lines on a map, but it is about the determination of framework of democratic representation,” he added.He called for mass consultation, saying elected representatives should be involved in the exercise. “That would benefit the common people… Just as during the EC’s SIR, BLOs along with political party representatives (BLAs) were involved, similarly elected representatives should also be involved in the delimitation exercise. It would have been beneficial for ordinary people,” he said.Trinamool neta Sovandeb Chattopadhyay also sought public consultation, saying, “There is a lack of clarity in the bill and that should be clarified before passing the same.”Hakim also pointed fingers at state minister Umesh Rai. “Umesh bhai was seen with the contractor and that is being talked about,” he said sparking a protest in the house. At this juncture Speaker said that Hakim cannot make any personal allegation. BJP MLA Jiten Tiwari was seen protesting the statement from Hakim.
