Patiala MC passes Rs 145-cr budget amid uproar by Opposition councillors over ‘rigged elections’

A budget of Rs 145 crore was passed by the House of Patiala Municipal Corporation on Friday amid uproar by Opposition councillors over “rigged elections”. This came a day after the Supreme Court formed a fact-finding commission under Justice Nirmaljit Kaur, former Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, to probe allegations against the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) that it connived with police officials and third parties and prevented candidates from filing their nomination by engaging in physical assault, tearing of clothes and snatching of papers.

The president of BJP’s Punjab Mahila Morcha, Jai Inder Kaur, welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to investigate the alleged election malpractices in Punjab’s municipal polls and slammed the AAP government for its “brazen assault” on democracy.

“Is this the 'badlav' that AAP promised Punjab? Rigged elections, police-backed violence and a complete mockery of democratic norms? This is nothing but the Arvind Kejriwal model of dictatorship,” she added.

She also took a dig at Bhagwant Mann for “misusing public money to suppress the voice of Opposition” instead of addressing the state’s real issues. “The Punjab Government will now be forced to pay Rs 5 lakh per month to the fact-finding commission’s judge, along with providing official vehicles, office space and secretarial assistance,” she said.

The Municipal Corporation presented an estimated budget of Rs 145 crore on Friday. Of the total outlay, Rs 108 crore has been earmarked for salaries, pensions, gratuities and other benefits of employees, while only Rs 33.42 crore has been allocated for development works, including road repairs.

Mayor Kundan Gogia said that Rs 30 crore of the funds, separate from the budget, are expected to arrive and will be spent on development work of the city.