The Times of india 28.09.2010
Mayor leaves for France amid protests
JAIPUR: Mayor Jyoti Khandelwal left for France on Monday to participate in Unesco’s Indian Heritage Network and France’s Historic Cities Association programme in the country. The opposition protested and said the trip was uncalled for amid huge fund crisis in the JMC.
The mayor is being accompanied by a 10-member delegation from across the local bodies in the state. The seven days conference from September 28 to October 5 will have other major attractions as the delegation would visit cities like Strausberg and Besencon besides Paris. On October 2 the delegation from Rajasthan will unveil the statue of Mahatma Gandhi. The delegation will study the public transport system, drainage system and other aspects of civic management in the host country.
France has organised musical programmes for the delegation during which Indian folk artistes will perform to the Rajasthani folk tunes. Along with it many cultural programmes showcasing India’s rich heritage have also been planned for the Indian guests.
Rameshwar Dadhich mayor of Jodhpur, Ratna Jain mayor of Kota, R Venkateshwaran secretary local government, JDC Sudhansh Pant along with several town planners and commissioners of the local bodies across the state are part of the delegation. However, no one from the JMC is part of the team.
Suman Sharma the state vice-president of BJP called this trip a honeymoon trip when she said, “The city has been in filth and the JMC does not have funds for basic civic services. A foreign trip on taxpayers money could not be justified”.
Meanwhile, BJP councillors Shalini Sharma, Savita Marodia and Roshan Saini claimed in unison that they would stage a protest march when the mayor returns from her trip. It has been learnt that the chief executive officer LC Aswal was also expected to accompany the mayor but he had to cancel the trip owing to scarcity of funds within the corporation.
