Manish Tewari welcomes decision on Chandigarh mayoral poll

Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari has welcomed the amendment to rules paving the way for holding the elections to the posts of Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor by a show of hands. He had made a proposal to this effect after being elected MP last year, he said.

In a statement issued here, Tewari said after the blatant subversion of democracy by presiding officer Anil Masih during the mayoral poll in Chandigarh, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had jointly passed a resolution in the Municipal Corporation House demanding that the elections to the three posts be conducted by a show of hands.

Had this demand been accepted earlier, the results would have been completely different. While the decision has come late, he welcomed it as a right step, he added. An amendment has been made to the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation Regulations, 1996, under which the elections will now be conducted by a show of hands, instead of the secret ballot system. He said this would further strengthen public faith in democracy.