Bhatkal: Twelve days after the election of the president and vice president of the Town Municipal Council (TMC), the elected vice president, Muhiddin Altaf Kharuri, has not been given the president's powers, despite the position remaining vacant.

This year, the post of president for the Bhatkal TMC was reserved for a scheduled caste woman, but since no councilor from this category was available, only the vice president was elected unopposed in the elections held on August 20. It was expected that, in the absence of a president, all presidential powers would be delegated to Vice President Altaf Kharuri. However, even after twelve days, this has not happened.

AC on Leave: The Bhatkal Assistant Commissioner (AC), who was previously serving as the administrator, should have taken steps to delegate the president's powers to the vice president. However, Bhatkal AC Dr. Naina is currently on leave. The Kumta AC is temporarily handling the responsibilities of Bhatkal, but has not taken any action regarding the delegation of powers. It is reported that the Uttara Kannada Deputy Commissioner (DC) has assured action to resolve this issue.

What the Rules Say: According to municipal rules, the vice president serves as the acting president until a successor is appointed or elected, or in the absence of the president for any period exceeding seven days, and the vice president possesses all the powers of the president. Altaf Kharuri argues that, since there was no election for the post of president, he should be assigned presidential powers as per the rules. He also suspects that political maneuvering might be the reason behind the delay in assigning these powers.

When asked about the TMC rules, Chief Officer Neelkanth Mesta stated that delegating powers is not his responsibility, and he is unclear about the specifics. Due to the questions raised, he has sent a letter to his superiors seeking clarification on the matter.

With no councilor available in the category reserved for the president's post, there is speculation that the government might change the reservation category, and some are closely monitoring the situation. It is suspected that this is the reason for the delay in assigning presidential powers to the vice president.

Now, it remains to be seen what explanation the district administration will provide in the coming days and what actions will be taken.