Thiara joins as JIT chief amid show of strength

In a huge show of strength, Aam Aadmi Party's Doaba zone secretary and Jalandhar Cantonment halqa in-charge Rajwinder Kaur Thiara took over as the chairperson of the Jalandhar Improvement Trust here this morning.

Party state president Aman Arora, Local Bodies Minister Dr Ravjot Singh, MLAs Balkar Singh and Raman Arora, ex-MLA Pawan Tinu, Mayor Vaneet Dhir, Deputy Mayor Malkit Singh and Punjab Tourism and Cultural Board Adviser Deepak Bali were among some prominent leaders present at the joining-in ceremony.

Thiara is learnt to have joined the office on Monday as per official records but a formal joining-in took place today. Councillors, party workers and supporters with bouqets and cakes attended. The Trust office, which does not have enough space, got packed to its capacity.

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Former chief Sanghera annoyed?

The change of power between Jagtar Sanghera and Thiara has not been a smooth one.

Sanghera was reportedly in Chandigarh today as the joining ceremony took place in Jalandhar.

His absence itself was a clear indication of his annoyance with the party.

Thiara is learnt to have given a show-cause notice to Executive Officer PS Gill, asking him to explain within 48 hours as to how and where the two office computer systems had been sent out of office.

The systems are learnt to have been sent back in the official car of the JIT.

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The joining ceremony at this level after the replacement of party old-timer and official spokesperson Jagtar S Sanghera came as a big surprise. Sanghera had remained in office for nearly 2.5 years. A bigger twist today was the fact that Thiara gave a statement, "I shall offer my services to all those people who have not been heard in the past few years. Now that I am here, I shall give my best and people will like my style of working."

Asked how she will deal with Rs 175 crore dues towards the allottees, she said, "It is my first day. I shall sit with officials and see how things are to be sorted out. Everything will be cleared."

On the issue of Latifpura demolitions more than two years ago, Thiara said, "I shall call the shelterless people to my office and give them all a proper hearing. The area falls in the Jalandhar Cantt constituency of which I am also the halqa incharge. I shall ensure that they all get duly compensated."

On the quick change-over of Improvement Trust chief, Dr Ravjot Singh said, "We wanted to give freshness to these local bodies. Thiara is one of the oldest workers of the party. She has been rewarded by the party for the hard work she had been doing. We should feel happy about it."

Various contractors of the JIT, suspended employees, former chairmen and other people, against whom inquiries had been marked by Sanghera and who had been sidelined by him for the past two years, were present. They all rejoiced the replacement and brought along their workers in large numbers to make the event look big.

Most people were heard saying that it would not be an easy game for Thiara to manage the financially bankrupt Improvement Trust. "The seat is besieged with several thorns. It can even lead to downturn of her political career if she is not able to handle it well", said a former Trustee of the JIT.