Indian Express 15.04.2010
Sukhbir to decide new Mohali MC chief
Express News Service Tags : mohali new MC chief Posted: Thursday , Apr 15, 2010 at 0314 hrs
Mohali: The power to decide the new president of the Mohali Municipal Council (MC) rests in the hands of Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal.
His choice will be made public at the special House meeting scheduled to be held at Municipal Bhawan in Sector 68 here on Thursday at 10 am when the name of the candidate will be declared through a chit.
Sources claimed that to avoid rivalry or chances of split in the group, the ruling SAD leadership has conveyed to 20 of its councillors that the party’s choice for the top post would be disclosed just before the election process and would be binding on all members.
As former MC chief Kulwant Singh emerges as the frontrunner for the post, several Akali councillors are sore over the choice whom they dubbed as a “Congress turncoat”.
“It would again be a Congressman if Kulwant Singh becomes the new MC chief after Rajinder Singh Rana,” said an Akali councillor, on the condition of anonymity.
Kulwant Singh had remained MC president for five years, his term ending in 2006.
He was believed to be a close aide of then Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and then Local Government Minister Ch Jagjit Singh during the previous Congress regime.
He had, however, lost the election in August 2006, but to be again declared victorious in an election petition decided in his favour last year.
Meanwhile, local Congress MLA Balbir Sidhu, who as an ex-officio member has voting rights, declared that all councillors owing allegiance to the Congress party would boycott Thursday’s meeting in protest against the removal of previous chief Rajinder Singh Rana in an “arbitrary, undemocratic and illegal” manner. We have also approached the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the state government’s order to remove Rana. The case will come up for hearing on Thursday,” Sidhu said.
Vice-chief’s election loses charm
Elections to the post of MC vice-presidents, which will be held along with that of the MC chief on Thursday, seems to have lost the charm with which it was contested earlier. Though Akali councillors Paramjit Singh Kahlon, Gurmukh Singh Sohal and Harpal Singh are the probable candidates, the final decision lies with the SAD high command. Councillor Kuljit Singh Bedi, meanwhile, urged the deputy commissioner to conduct a separate election for the posts of senior and junior vice-president as per the MC bylaws.
