Lavoo Mamledar: There is no rift between the MGP and BJP. There is a fight among us. Of the 14 PMC councillors, MGP has backed 8 councillors and BJP has supported 5 councillors, while one is supported by the Congress. The tussle is between the vendors and the PMC only because the council suddenly hiked sopo rates without proper discussion.
Herald: You have pledged your support to the vendors, yet the State government has refused to fully rollback the increased sopo tax.
LM: Prior to the PMC and Assembly election, I had made my stand clear that the sopo tax should be discarded and should be collected by PMC as there were instances in the past where sopo contractors would harass vendors. Though the MGP-BJP backed councillors are running the PMC; the council is not fulfilling the promise given during the election. I suspect a fraud in the sopo tax issue and I have demanded an inquiry by the Anti-Corruption Bureau. The sopo tax has become an ego issue of council and even God intervenes, he will not be able to solve the problem.
Herald: You have filed a vigilance complaint against the PMC. The PMC claims that it has the right to decide on the sopo tax.
LM: It has right to decide but it should be justifiable. But despite increasing the sopo tax, it has not benefited the PMC as the bid amount remains the same as compared to the previous years.
