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Jaipur mayor suspended after husband held in bribery case
The mayor of Jaipur heritage municipal corporation in Rajasthan, India, has been suspended following the arrest of her husband in a bribery case.
The Rajasthan government has suspended Jaipur heritage municipal corporation mayor Munesh Gujjar following the arrest of her husband in a bribery case related to the issuance of land deeds.
An order of her suspension was issued by the local self-government department on Saturday night. The Jaipur heritage corporation has a Congress-led board.
The development came after the mayor’s husband Sushil Gujjar and two middlemen, Narayan Singh and Anil Dubey, were arrested by the state’s anti-corruption bureau (ACB) on Friday night for allegedly taking a bribe of ₹2 lakh in lieu of issuing a land lease.
Later, a search at Gujjar’s residence led to the recovery of ₹40 lakh in cash and a file of lease. Similarly, ₹8 lakh cash was recovered from Singh’s house, officials said.
In an order late on Saturday night, director and special secretary of the local self-government department, Hridesh Kumar Sharma, said the mayor is suspended from her post with immediate effect pending investigation as her prima facie involvement in the case is suspected.
“It has been decided by the state government to get the matter investigated under Section 39 of the Rajasthan Municipalities Act, 2009,” the order read. “Since the act is of serious nature and there is every possibility of influencing the pending investigation by continuing on the post of mayor, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 39(6) of the Rajasthan Municipalities Act, 2009, the state government suspends Munesh Gujjar as mayor of Jaipur Heritage Municipal Corporation with immediate effect.”
The suspended mayor, however, denied any wrongdoing.
“It is a political conspiracy against me and my family. Those who have done conspiracy will be trapped sooner or later. I have full faith in judiciary,” Gujjar told reporters on Sunday. “I have followed the zero tolerance towards corruption policy of the chief minister. Let all the file signed by me get probed…I have no fear.”
State’s food and civil supplies minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, who met chief minister Ashok Gehlot late on Saturday night, welcomed the move.
“This decision of the Rajasthan government is a welcome step. Any person who commits corruption, similar strict action should be taken against them,” he said. “I want the recording made by ACB to be made public, so that the general public also know how these people were doing corruption.”
Congress legislator from Adarsh Nagar, Rafiq Khan, said the Rajasthan government is working on the policy of zero tolerance towards corruption. Within 24 hours, the government has suspended the mayor, Khan said. “It is clear from this that whoever will do corruption in Rajasthan, strictest action will be taken against them, no matter how big they are,” he added.
Reacting on the ACB action on Friday, chief minister Gehlot had said, “Rajasthan is the only state where the ACB can function independently. They don’t need anyone’s nod to take action against the culprit… Rajasthan made a milestone by enabling ACB to work freely and arrest any high official irrespective of their designation and political identity.”
This is not the first time a mayor has been suspended by the state government. In June 2021, the state government had placed on suspension the mayor of Jaipur Municipal Corporation Greater, Soumya Gujjar, over complaint of allegedly manhandling the commissioner. The Jaipur Greater corporation has a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led board.
However, months later, Soumya Gujjar was reinstated to her post after the Rajasthan high court set aside the state government’s order.
