This time Trinamool also lost the municipality of Kolkata. Firhad Hakim resigned from the post of Mayor of Kolkata Municipality (Kolkata Municipal Corporation or KMC) on Friday (June 5). He submitted his resignation letter to Chairperson Mala Roy.
Several councilors, panchayat members, zilla parishad members have resigned from their posts in various municipalities across the state since the debacle of the Trinamool Congress in the recently concluded assembly elections. Now that wave started in Kolkata municipality too.
Firhad Hakim became the mayor of Kolkata in November 2018. In fact, he became the first Muslim mayor of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation established in 1876. Later, in 2021, the MLA of Kolkata Port Center sat in the mayor's seat for the second time. This Trinamool leader, who is close to Mamata, has held the post of minister and mayor for almost eight years. Firhad sought permission from Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee to resign from the post of Sampriti Mayor. He told his close circle as the reason, there is no working environment in Kolkata Municipality, it is becoming increasingly difficult to work in Kolkata Municipality in the recent situation.
Announcing his decision to resign on Friday, Firhad Hakeem said, “I am nobody. But the chair in which I have sat Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Bidhan Chandra Roy, Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das – whose pictures we grew up bowing to – all our memorable people have a special honor. Now that is not possible. So I cannot insult that chair. I think, I sat on the chair without shield, no sword, Nidhiram.” Sardar- It cannot be so I have decided to resign today.”
Thanking party leader Mamata Banerjee, Firhad said, “After the resignation of the then mayor Sobhan Chatterjee in 2018, I was appointed to this chair with the consent of all the councillors. I stood there and served from 2018 to 2021. People supported us again in the 2021 elections and I have been in this position since then. Those who will take charge in the coming days will run the municipality, they will run it better than me.”
He said, “The task is to run the municipality transparently and fulfill the expectations of the people. My request to the new government, to the Chief Minister is to fulfill the expectations of the people.”
