7 councillors attend oath ceremony in Tarn Taran

In the first statutory meeting convened by the Electoral Registration Officer (EO) in Tarn Taran on Thursday, only seven out of the 25 elected Municipal councillors attended to take the oath of office. The meeting, which was held at the Executive Officer’s (EO) office at 10 am, saw just seven councillors participating in the oath-taking ceremony. After the process, the EO left the venue. Among the seven councillors present, two from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were reportedly aligned with a faction opposed to the Tarn Taran MLA.

After the EO left, the remaining 18 councillors, associated with Dr Kashmir Singh Sohal, MLA, gathered for a protest outside the EO’s office. They blocked the Municipal Council gates and voiced their discontent over the administration’s actions. Sarbarinder Singh, leader of the MLA’s councillor group, condemned the administration for what he called “mala-fide intentions,” claiming they were only interested in administering oaths and were delaying the election of the president and other office-bearers. He said they would approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court if the problem was not

resolved soon.

The situation surrounding the Municipal Council has become complicated, with the ruling AAP winning only eight out of 25 wards in the election held. In addition to the eight AAP councillors, 14 independents and three Congress members were also elected, leading to internal tensions between two factions within the ruling party — one led by Dr Kashmir Singh Sohal and the other by a state minister.