DC sets aside BJP councillor's election

Deputy commissioner Rajat Aggarwal has set aside the election of BJP leader Ram Chawla as a municipal councillor following a complaint by Independent candidate Naresh Kumar Mehta. Mehta had accused Chawla of getting 1,100 votes added to the voters list on June 7, 2012, the last day for filing of nominations for the MC elections, which were held on June 10 last year.

Deputy commissioner Rajat Aggarwal has set aside the election of BJP leader Ram Chawla as a municipal councillor following a complaint by Independent candidate Naresh Kumar Mehta.


Mehta had accused Chawla of getting 1,100 votes added to the voters list on June 7, 2012, the last day for filing of nominations for the MC elections, which were held on June 10 last year.

On the other hand, Chawla's family had termed the charges against him as "baseless" and asserted they would move the court on this matter.

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The complainant had alleged that the candidates were to be given copies of voters' lists in their constituencies after the last day of filing of nominations whereafter new voters could not be added.

Former heath minister Dr Baldev Raj Chawla, father of Ram Chawla, denied the charges. "We will approach the judiciary. We did not get any names added to the voters list. The allegations are absolutely baseless. If at all such a thing has happened, the officials in the deputy commissioner's office are responsible," he said.

Congress councillor Raj Kanwal Preet Pal Singh Lucky hailed the DC's decision and said that it had proved charges of corruption leveled against BJP councillor, whom he also had accused of violating rules to win the MC elections.