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Chandigarh mayor left red-faced as BJP councillors skip MC meet
Only Raj Bala Malik and Maheshinder Singh Sidhu of the BJP were present in the meeting besides the opposition councillors
In an unprecedented move, 18 of the 20 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillors on Wednesday boycotted the Chandigarh municipal corporation’s General House meeting, forcing their own party mayor Raj Bala Malik to adjourn it for lack of quorum.
Only Malik and Maheshinder Singh Sidhu of the BJP were present in the meeting, held through video-conferencing, besides five of the Congress and an Akali councillor. Even the nine nominated members were absent.
“Of the 27 elected representatives (including 26 elected councillors and the city MP), only eight were present, while as per MC Act, quorum requirement is of nine councillors,” said KK Yadav, MC commissioner.
Apparently taken by surprise by her fellow party members’ move, the mayor said, “I don’t know the reason for the boycott.It is their own House and party. It is disappointing that they didn’t attend the meeting.”
Contradicting Malik, BJP councillors insisted that she was informed by Dinesh Kumar, BJP organisational secretary, on October 19, that they would not attend the meeting if it is taken on a digital platform. Kumar didn’t respond to repeated calls.
While the mayor was left red-faced, BJP councillors claimed they skipped the meeting because of MC officials.
Party’s general secretary Rambir Bhatti released a press statement late at night, stating that “MC bureaucrats” were not allowing holding of a physical meeting of the House, which led to the boycott.
“On October 16, BJP councillors had decided that the House meeting should be physical (in person) and not through a digital platform. The councillors, including Sood and Kumar, on October 18 reiterated the demand for holding a physical House meet. Kumar even informed the mayor about the party decision,” said Bhatti.
Bhatti also alleged that MC officials were not allowing them to bring agenda of their choice, such as cut in water tariff. Tuesday meeting didn’t include it as an agenda. Contesting the claim, a senior MC official, who did not wish to be named, said: “They can always bring a table agenda if they think officials are blocking their agendas.”
Just a month ago, a high drama was witnessed at the MC office in Sector 17 after a BJP leader allegedly slapped the commissioner’s private secretary. In turn, the BJP had accused MC employees of attacking the party delegation that had gone there to meet the commissioner. Counter complaints were filed in the case, but the matter was finally resolved.
Sources said there is anger among BJP councillors against the mayor and MC officials for not calling a General House meeting in September, and not responding to their repeated requests.
The mayor had recently recovered from Covid-19 and had even remained admitted to the PGIMER. “Even if the mayor was ill at the time, the officials should have called the meeting, which could have been chaired by the deputy mayor,” said a BJP councillor who didn’t want to be named.
This is not the first time when the party’s internal feud has erupted in public. In the 2018 mayor elections, a rebel candidate stood against the party’s official choice.
“It is extremely disappointing that the same people who were rebelling at that time are again playing petty politics in public against their own party mayor,” said a senior BJP leader, who didn’t want to be named.
Devinder Singh Babla, Congress councillor and leader of opposition in the House, called it a political stunt. “The mayor and those who boycotted the meeting are in it together. It is simply to avoid facing opposition on crucial issues, such as steep hike in water charges and poor development record of the BJP. We demand mayor’s resignation.”
Hardeep Singh of the Shiromani Akali Dal said, “We are ready to represent the people’s interests on any platform. BJP councillors should face other elected representatives in the House. It exposes BJP failures, particularly in preventing a steep hike in water charges.”
