Rintu takes oath as Amritsar’s first Sikh mayor

Rintu, a first-time city councillor from ward No 12, polled 6,006 votes in the recently held municipal corporation elections.

Karamjit Singh Rintu was on Tuesday elected as Amritsar’s mayor, making him the first Sikh to hold the post.

Newly-elected Amritsar mayor Karamjit Singh Rintu (in maroon turban) with his supporters in Amritsar on Tuesday. (HT Photo)

However, Punjab local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and 17 Congress councillors considered close to him did not attend the first meeting of the house of Municipal Corporation (MC), during which the corporation’s officer bearers were elected.

Insiders say Sidhu was upset over not being invited for the meeting and his supporters too skipped it in protest of ‘not being taken into confidence’ during the selection of mayors to three major cities—Amritsar, Patiala and Jalandhar—where MC elections were held on December 17.

“I will serve my duty honestly and do hard work for the development of the holy city,” said Rinku after taking oath