Congress objects to bigger pie for AAP on delimitation panel in Patiala

Patiala, January 2

Two AAP councillors, who had recently left the Congress, are among five associate members of the delimitation committee formed by the Department of Local Government.

Congress leaders have objected to the list of names finalised for the committee. It includes one councillor each from Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and two from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which otherwise has only three councillors in the 60-member Patiala Municipal Corporation.

Ensure fair representation

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More than 30 councillors in the 60-member city MC are from the Congress, while AAP has only three. But for the delimitation committee, they have nominated one councillor from the Congress and two from their party. They should ensure that representation in the committee is according to party strength. Naresh Duggal, President, District Congress Committee

The state government is now holding meetings to discuss and decide upon the increment of wards, notification of reserved category wards and others for the upcoming municipal elections. The corporations that are due for elections, including Patiala, have completed their surveys of population.

The office of Corporation Commissioner recently sent a list of five associate members of the committee to the Local Government Department. It includes Ward 7 councillor Usha Tiwari from Congress, Ward 37 councillor Ramanpreet Kaur of the SAD, Ward 39 councillor Leela Rani from BJP and two councillors associated with the AAP — Ward 44 councillor Krishan Chand and Ward 49 councillor Aarti Gupta. AAP, which otherwise has a 0.5 per cent representation in the city MC, constitutes 40 per cent of nomination as associate members of the committee.

Naresh Duggal, president, district Congress Committee, has raised objections and said he should have been consulted. “More than 30 councillors in the 60-member city MC are from Congress while AAP has only three councillors. But for the delimitation committe, they have nominated one councillor from Congress and two from their party. They should ensure that representation in the committee is according to party strength. Moreover, I was not consulted regarding the nomination. I have complained to the MC Commissioner demanding that they nominate the members upon our consent. There should be two representatives from Congress, not one.”

Arun Tiwari, husband of Ward 7 councillor Usha Tiwari, said government officials nominated his wife on their own.

Insiders said the associate members do not have the power to vote.

MC Commissioner Aaditya Uppal rejected the claims and demands of the Congress president and said there was no provision for the same. Citing the Municipal Corporation Act, he said, “Names of councillor members are supposed to be finalised by the corporation Commissioner in consultation with the Deputy Commissioner.”