No-confidence motion moved against Nabha MC president

The trouble is brewing for Nabha Municipal Council chief Sujata Chawla as 17 out of 23 councillors have submitted a no-confidence motion against her after recovery of tractor-trailers parts, which were allegedly stolen from the Shambhu protest site, from a workshop of her husband and AAP leader Pankaj Kumar Pappu.

The move comes days after the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) held a protest outside Pappu’s house, accusing him of stealing tyres and hooks of two tractor-trailers that went missing from the Shambhu border.

Although the no-confidence motion makes no direct mention of the theft allegations, several councillors, including those from the AAP, have gone public accusing the chief’s husband of indulging in “unethical practices”.

The KMM leaders said members of the Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Azad) along with the police team recovered two tyres and hooks from the workshop of Pappu.

Guramneet Singh Mangat of the KMM, who is spearheading the campaign to trace missing tractors after the eviction of farmers from the Shambhu and Khanauri borders, said a delegation would soon meet Patiala SSP to press for strict action.

When contacted, Pappu denied the charges. He claimed that tractor-trailers belonging to the MC are often repaired at his workshop. “Sometimes second-hand tyres are purchased from the open market to ensure that garbage lifting does not halt, especially during the monsoon,” he said.

Gurcharan Singh, Executive Officer of the Nabha MC, pointed out that civic body’s tractor-trailers had never been repaired at Pappu’s workshop.

AAP councillor Rosy Nagpal alleged that she was targeted after raising objections to substandard road recarpeting in her ward. “Instead of addressing the issue, the council head and her husband indulged in vendetta and stopped cleanliness work in my ward,” she alleged.

Another AAP councillor, Harpreet Singh, said the recovery of tractor parts from Pappu’s workshop had “dented the party’s image”, prompting him and others to withdraw the support.

SAD councillor Gursewak Singh said he stood firmly with the KMM. Congress councillor Renu Seth and six others from the party also signed the no-confidence petition, offering “unconditional support” to farmers.

With numbers stacked against her, Chawla has gone incommunicado.