MC study tour in troubled waters

Rajinder Nagarkoti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 19

The Congress today decided to boycott the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation’s study tour to Mysuru, Hyderabad and Bengaluru between July 31 and August 8 under the leadership of Mayor Arun Sood. The decision was taken in a meeting of Congress councillors held at Congress Bhawan, Sector 35, under the chairmanship of Congress president Pardeep Chhabra. The meeting was also attended by Congress councillors in the MC.

With the Congress boycott, now, only two councillors (one nominated and one BSP) have given their consent for the tour on July 15. Sood, who had proposed the tour, today clarified that he had also not given his written consent for the tour yet.

Former Mayor and Congress councillor Subhash Chawla said their party in-principle was not against the tour but they had decided to boycott the tour under the leadership of Sood.

Meanwhile, Deputy Mayor Hardeep Singh today said he would also not go on the study tour. Whereas, Senior Deputy Mayor Davesh Moudgil, said till date neither the Mayor nor the Joint Commissioner had convened a meeting regarding the study tour. Even the programme of the study tour was not discussed with him, Moudgil said. “I cannot give my consent to the study tour on receiving aphone call from the clerk,” Moudgil said.

Earlier, Chawla and Congress councillor Gurbax Rawat, nominated councillor MP Kohli and BSP councillor Naresh Kumar had agreed to go on the study tour. The MC councillors were asked to give their consent by July 18. Sources said only four councillors had given their consent to the MC officials. Today, the numbers have reduced to two councillors.