The simmering tension within the Congress, after its poor show in the recently concluded Chandigarh municipal corporation elections, spilled out in the open as the party’s city unit chief Subhash Chawla and his deputy Devinder Singh Babla got into a public spat on Saturday.
The incident took place during the oath-taking ceremony of the newly-elected councillors at the Municipal Corporation Bhawan in Sector-17 on Saturday. Both Chawla and Babla were sitting in the visitors’ gallery, when they got into a heated exchange, prompting other councillors to intervene. The spat went on for several minutes.
Speaking after the episode, Chawla said, “Babla hurled abuses at me. I am very upset over his behaviour. The party will decide what action is to be taken against him for this behaviour.”
Babla, on the other hand, denied the allegations of hurling abuses. “I was enquiring from him why a party meeting has not been called to discuss the defeat. However, his behaviour was odd. He shot back saying it was not necessary, which infuriated me.” He added that Chawla must take moral responsibility for the defeat and tender his resignation.
Those present at the spot said that Babla accused Chawla of “destroying” the party. He also alleged that AAP was Chawla’s creation as he let senior leaders like Pardeep Chhabra (former Congress chief) to leave party and join AAP with several others. He also accused Chawla of “selling tickets” and giving it to those, who did not stand a chance to win “even in their own Mohallas.”
{{/usCountry}}Those present at the spot said that Babla accused Chawla of “destroying” the party. He also alleged that AAP was Chawla’s creation as he let senior leaders like Pardeep Chhabra (former Congress chief) to leave party and join AAP with several others. He also accused Chawla of “selling tickets” and giving it to those, who did not stand a chance to win “even in their own Mohallas.”
{{/usCountry}}“Chawla could not ensure his own son’s victory. It was a very good opportunity for us to win this election. There was a wave against BJP. But due to poor management of Chawla, we lost the polls,” Babla said after the incident.
In a city, once considered a Congress stronghold, the party was outsmarted and out-campaigned by debutant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which grabbed most of the anti-incumbency votes against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Congress could secure only eight seats, while AAP won 14 and BJP retained 12 seats. Congress had four councillors in the outgoing house.
35 councillors take oath of office
The 35 elected councillors were administered oath of office on Saturday morning at a ceremony at the assembly hall of municipal corporation in Sector 17 by deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh in the presence of MC commissioner Anindita Mitra. The UT is yet to announce the dates for mayoral polls.