High drama at Salem Corporation council meeting as Mayor and Deputy Mayor clash over chair removal

High drama unfolded at the Salem Corporation’s monthly council meeting on Friday, August 28, 2026, after the Mayor demanded the removal of the Deputy Mayor’s chair from the dais.

Before the start of the meeting, a few DMK councillors brought lanterns into the Corporation building, demanding streetlight facilities for their wards. The police deployed in the building confiscated the lamps from the councillors. While police personnel entered the hall, the DMK councillors raised objections and asked the police to leave the hall.

Later, Mayor A. Ramachandran, a member of the DMK, entered the council hall. He instructed the workers to remove the chair assigned to Deputy Mayor M. Saradha Devi, a member of the Congress, from the dais. He alleged that it was at the Corporation Commissioner’s insistence that the chair has been placed on the dais and ordered its removal, much to the opposition of Ms. Devi.

As Ms. Devi stopped the workers from removing the chair, Mr. Ramachandran sat down in a chair among the councillors. Ms. Devi also sat down before the dais.

Following this, Congress workers entered the meeting hall, and the DMK and other councillors demanded that they leave. The police then arrived and asked them to exit the hall. Afterward, a few councillors held discussions with the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and Commissioner about the issue for more than 30 minutes outside the hall.

After the discussion, Ms. Devi entered the hall and claimed that Mr. Ramachandran insisted on removing the chair from the dais. She also accused the Mayor of verbal abuse.

Mr. Ramachandran entered the hall and announced that all resolutions were passed and that the meeting had ended. Alleging that Ms. Devi had disrupted the meeting, the Mayor suspended her for two months.

However, Ms. Devi staged a sit-in protest inside the meeting hall along with another councillor, Kirija, even after all the councillors left the hall.