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Factionalism in Ludhiana SAD-BJP as workers conduct separate meetings with mayor
While the SAD councillors conducted a meeting with the Mayor on September 14, the BJP councillors met Sandhu on Thursday
Factionalism in the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance was witnessed here today after councillors from both parties conducted separate meetings with Mayor Balkar Sandhu regarding development works and their grievances.
While the SAD councillors conducted a meeting with the Mayor on September 14, the BJP councillors met Sandhu on Thursday. SAD leaders said that they had invited the BJP councillors to the meeting, but they didn’t show up. While SAD had sought action against officials and contractors over inferior quality roads, the BJP has opposed notices being served to shopkeepers for recovery of CLU charges.
Leader of opposition in the MC general house, SAD councillor, Harabhajan Singh Dang said, “We had asked the BJP leaders to participate in the meeting, but they did not show up that day. Our motive is to raise the issues being faced by residents and work for the development of the city. Even if the BJP councillors met the mayor separately, we have no issues as our aim is to raise the voice of the public.”
When asked about BJP councillors’ meeting the Mayor, Dang said that the BJP leadership did not invite the SAD councillors to the meeting. “But we have no problem with that as both of us have raised the issues for providing relief to the public,” he said.
Sources in the BJP said that the party councillors did not participate in the meeting of SAD councillors, as the district president of BJP Pushpinder Singal was not consulted before fixing a meeting with the mayor.
BJP district president Pushpinder Singal said, “A delegation of state BJP leaders were in the city on the day when SAD councillors met the Mayor. Our meetings were already scheduled for the day, due to which we were not able to attend the meeting with SAD councillors. As we were not able to participate in that meeting, the BJP councillors went to meet the mayor on Thursday.”
