Punjab: Congress seeks governor's intervention for re-election of Amritsar mayor

Chandigarh, Jan 28 (PTI) A delegation of the Punjab Congress on Tuesday met Governor Gulab Chand Kataria here, seeking his intervention for the re-election of the mayoral polls in Amritsar.

The delegation alleged that the AAP "misused" government machinery in the mayoral polls held on Monday, which led to the election of the ruling party's nominee.

Aam Aadmi Party's Jatinder Singh Bhatia was elected as the new mayor of Amritsar Municipal Corporation on Monday. Priyanka Sharma was elected as the senior deputy mayor and Anita Rani as deputy mayor of the municipal body.

The Congress delegation dubbed the mayoral polls "a mockery of democracy".

The delegation comprised leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, state unit chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla, MLAs Tript Rajinder Bajwa and Aruna Chaudhary.

In a memorandum submitted to the governor, the delegation sought the governor's intervention to re-elect the Amritsar Mayor in a democratic manner. "We appeal to the Governor of Punjab to take immediate action to restore people's faith in democracy," Bajwa said.

He said the Congress won 41 seats in the 85-member Municipal Corporation.

"The Congress also had the support of four other councillors. If any party had a legitimate right to the position of mayor, it was the Congress Party. However, the Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government mercilessly stifled the basic tenets of democracy," he alleged.

"The AAP government in Punjab blatantly misused government machinery in the mayoral polls as it did in the panchayat elections and assembly by-elections. The houses of some of the councillors, who were to participate in the meeting, were raided by police authorities to harass them and prevent their participation in the process," he alleged.

The Qadian MLA said that it was extremely disappointing that the AAP that used to preach democratic values and pledged to carry forward the legacy of social activist Anna Hazare has now "stooped so low" to elect a mayor with "highly undemocratic manners".

Bajwa said the Punjab Congress has already approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court to get the Amritsar mayoral poll nullified. "We have full faith in the court of law. And justice will prevail at the end of the day," Bajwa stated. PTI CHS SKY SKY