AAP attacks BJP over transferring V3 roads to Chandigarh Admn, terms move illegal

The Chandigarh unit of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has said termed as “illegal and undemocratic” the manner in which the agenda for transferring V3 roads was passed by the BJP councillors during the General House meeting of the Municipal Corporation.

Addressing a press conference at the party office here on Thursday, city AAP president Vijaypal Singh said the party was not against the construction of V3 roads, but had objection to the manner in which the proposal was cleared. “We want every road in Chandigarh to be world class, but this decision was bulldozed through without debate, without timelines for project completion and without a written commitment from the Administration on returning these roads to the MC,” Singh said.

He alleged that marshals were deployed to physically remove opposition councillors to ensure that the proposal was passed without dissent.

“This is a black day in democracy for Chandigarh. Sections 44 and 45 of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976 (extended to Chandigarh) do not mention any provision for such a transfer of municipal assets. Even the UT Law Department has sought clarity on the matter, which proves the illegality of the decision,” he said.

He said the Mayor deployed marshals on some excuse and physically ejected opposition councillors, including Yogesh Dhingra, Damanpreet Singh, Hardeep Singh, Manur, Ramchander Yadav and women members Jaswinder Kaur, Suman, Anju Katiyar and Prem Lata.

As the AAP and Congress councillors were forced out, voting was conducted with only BJP councillors present in the House and the V3 roads agenda was passed in an undemocratic manner, he added. Singh alleged that the BJP is pursuing agenda aimed at weakening the Municipal Corporation and silencing the voice of Chandigarh’s elected representatives through the misuse of marshals.

Calling the resolution unconstitutional and “ultra vires”, Singh warned that it has set a dangerous precedent of bypassing elected representatives. “If this continues, other municipal assets could also be illegally handed over to any department. AAP will challenge the decision on every platform, including legal forums. AAP leaders emphasized that Rs 125 crore from the Centre should be used for development of all wards since the funds were diverted by the Chandigarh Administration. There is no need to hand over V3 roads to the UT Engineering Department, he added.