‘Delay’ in Sangrur civic body chief election hindering devp: Congress in letter to CEC
Apr 03, 2025 09:42 AM IST
The letter submitted through Sangrur deputy commissioner (DC) Sandeep Rishi points out that the council chief has not been elected yet despite assurance given by sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Charanjot Singh Walia in March
As many as nine Congress councillors from Sangrur have written to the chief election commissioner (CEC) of Punjab, alleging Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the administration were ‘delaying’ the council president’s election, causing hinderance in developments works.
The letter submitted through Sangrur deputy commissioner (DC) Sandeep Rishi points out that the council chief has not been elected yet despite assurance given by sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Charanjot Singh Walia in March.
In the letter, the Congress councillors, led by former cabinet minister Vijay Inder Singla, say that three months have passed since they were elected but the administration has not initiated the process to administer oath to them or form House.
The councillors, elected on December 26 last year, allege this is a violation of the Punjab Municipal Act.
However, AAP MLA from Sangrur Narinder Kaur Bharaj, who is an ex-officio member of the House, said the delay was not caused by the AAP. “It is up to the administration, be it DC or SDM, to decide when the president will be elected. We have a complete majority in the House will elect out president,” she said.
The Congress councillors point out that they are unable to carry out their duties as they cannot undertake development works without taking oath.
They said the Punjab Municipal Act mandates the completion of this process within 14 days of the election, but three months have passed since they were elected.
Singla said it was unfortunate that the elected councillors were not administered oath and accused the AAP government and the Sangrur administration of deliberately obstructing development work in the city.
In the polls, the AAP won seven seats, the Congress got nine and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won three seats. As many as 10 independent candidates were elected to the 29-member House, five of whom later joined the AAP, taking their tally to 14. Sangrur MLA Bharaj and Sunam MLA Aman Arora are ex-officio members of the House.
