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Ambala zila parishad: Saffron party backed independent elected chairperson
Of the 15 zila parishad members, nine showed-up for the decisive meeting. A day earlier, just five members had attended the meeting and it was postponed as the quorum was not met
After days of high drama and exchange of serious allegations between Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Saffron Party backed independent candidate Rajesh Kumar Ladi was elected unopposed as the Ambala Zila Parishad chairperson on Monday.
In the elections that concluded peacefully at the additional deputy commissioner (ADC) Sachin Gupta’s office, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)’s Karnail Singh was also elected unopposed as the vice-chairperson. No other member had filed a nomination for both posts, a spokesperson said.
Of the 15 zila parishad members, nine showed-up for the decisive meeting. A day earlier, just five members had attended the meeting and it was postponed as the quorum was not met.
In the ZP elections last month, AAP had won three seats, BJP and BSP won two each, JJP won one and independents secured other seats.
No recovery in four hours of Lobana’s remand
Two days after the arrest of AAP’s chairman nominee Makhan Singh Lobana for his alleged involvement in an immigration fraud case, he was presented before a court again on Monday after completing one day in police remand.
Ambala police told the court that a mobile phone and four passports that were to be seized by them had been damaged by Lobana. A complaint was also received from Gurpreet of Patiala, who alleged that he was sent to United States of America by Lobana and his brother Shainda through illegal routes in March 2019. However, he was deported by the US authorities in January 2020, and the duo was not returning his passport and ₹22.5 lakh, police added, while seeking a two-day remand for the seizure.
Against the police’s demand, the court granted just an hour of remand and Lobana was presented again after police failed to reach Khanna Majra village for recovery, Lobana’s legal counsel Rohit Jain, said.
Seeking a two-day remand again, the cops were granted a three-hour remand, but they remained empty handed and Lobana complained of health complications.
SP Jashandeep Singh Randhawa said, “We were unable to carry out the probe in such a short period of time and no recovery was made during total four hours of remand. Lobana was admitted to the district civil hospital after his blood pressure shot up. However, he was discharged later and sent to central jail.”
AAP’s north convener Chitra Sarwara hit out at the state government and said, “Lobana is being treated inhumanely by police since he was taken into custody. BJP, and most importantly the home minister, are using all possible power to make their candidate a chairperson. The elections were left as a mockery of democracy.”
Refuting AAP’s allegations, BJP district president Rajesh Batoura, said, “They didn’t have the majority, but we do. They didn’t even bother to send their members to attend the meeting even after getting the maximum seats.”
