BJP, Cong members oppose extension granted in tenures of Mayor, Dy Mayor

An uproar erupted during the general house meeting of the Shimla Municipal Corporation (MC) yesterday as BJP councillors condemned the extension in the tenures of the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor and demanded elections to the two posts, as per the roster.

Just before the proceedings of the House were to start, Bittu Kumar, BJP councillor from the Krishna Nagar Ward, said that the councillors were against the Cabinet decision to extend the tenures of the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor and wanted election, as per the roster. He added that with this decision, the state government was destroying democracy and snatching the rights of women. “As per the roster, a woman was set to be elected as the next Mayor but Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, at a recent Cabinet meeting, extended the tenures of the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor because the incumbent Mayor is his close aide,” he alleged.

Bittu said that they did not have any problem with the Mayor but all they wanted was that the procedure for the election of Mayor should be followed, as per the roster, and it should not be amended.

Several Congress councillors also expressed displeasure over the Cabinet decision and said that though they were not against the state government, the Chief Minister or the Mayor, they were unhappy with the change in the roster. Congress councillor Simmi Nanda said, “We are against the decision to change the roster and we want that a woman be elected Mayor.

Incumbent Mayor Surinder Chauhan said that he had accepted their proposal and it would be sent to the state government for approval. He added that the state government took the decision and the corporation had nothing to do with it.

Despite the Mayor’s assurance, the BJP councillors continued with their protest and raised slogans against the state government, to the dismay of several Congress councillors, who were in favour of the house proceedings to continue. The Congress councillors also said that the BJP members should not target the state government and the Chief Minister for the decision but should only express their opinion about the amendment.