Council debate over Mayor’s social media presence turns intense

The Kochi Corporation Council meeting on Thursday witnessed heated exchanges between ruling and Opposition benches over the proposal to approve a quotation of ₹55,000 per month for managing the Mayor’s official social media handles and digital channels.

While not explicitly opposing the move, Left Democratic Front (LDF) Parliamentary Party leader V.A. Sreejith questioned whether the annual expenditure would breach the ceiling fixed by a State government order and whether the quotation had been publicised in newspapers or processed through the tender route. He also reminded UDF councillors of their earlier criticism bordering on personal attacks of former Mayor M. Anilkumar when he had advanced a similar proposal.

“We are not resorting to such antics, but it is worth recalling how Mr. Anilkumar had cited the growing relevance of IT and the need to keep the public informed about the Corporation’s functioning, only to be rebuked,” Mr. Sreejith said.

The government permits Corporations to spend up to ₹5 lakh annually, and other local bodies up to ₹3 lakh, on social media operations.

UDF councillor M.G. Aristotle countered that the UDF had opposed the use of Corporation funds for maintaining personal social media handles of the Mayor. He credited Mr. Anilkumar with securing government approval and launching the official Facebook page of the Kochi Mayor, calling him the “father of the Corporation’s social media operations”. However, he pointed out that Mr. Anilkumar had spent ₹64,000 a month, thereby breaching the ₹5 lakh annual limit.

LDF councillor Ambika Sudarshan recalled how UDF councillors had once debated the Mayor’s social media proposal for hours during the LDF’s tenure, contrasting it with the relative ease with which the UDF was now pushing it through.

BJP councillor Priya Prashanth urged that the existing official Facebook page of the Mayor be retained and cautioned against exceeding the government’s spending cap, noting that the current proposal entailed an annual outlay of ₹6.60 lakh.

The debate grew sharper when UDF councillor Henry Austin accused Mr. Sreejith of dragging the discussion without clarifying his stance. Later, UDF councillor Sibi John’s remark about prolonging the debate was misconstrued by Opposition members as an affront to their dignity, sparking further uproar.

Mayor V.K. Minimol, initially accommodative of the Opposition, grew weary as the debate dragged on and remarked that the matter could be put to vote if the Opposition so desired. As tempers cooled, she said that a letter would be sent to the government seeking to extend the benefits of social media operations to councillors as well.