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Mohali mayoral polls postponed, to be held on Aug 28 now

Councillors’ supporters vandalise private vehicles, office of Municipal Corporation; stone-pelting from supporters of all parties leads to cane-charge by police.

chandigarh mayoral polls, mayoral polls, mayor polls, chandigarh polls, chandigarh mayor, chandigarh news, india news Supporters of SAD and Congress-Azad group clash outside the MC office in Mohali on Tuesday. (Source: Express Photo by Jasbir Malhi)

Amidst a ruckus inside and outside the Municipal Corporation, the election for the first mayor of Mohali was postponed on Tuesday. While councillors indulged in sloganeering, breaking glasses and throwing chairs inside the House, the supporters outside took to stone-pelting. The Punjab Police resorted to canecharge to disperse the agitating mob.

Consequently, the election was rescheduled for August 28. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed on August 4 that the election for Mohali mayor should be held by August 19. Election was also to be held for the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor.

The ruckus started as soon as the councillors and officials gathered in the conference room. The SAD-BJP has 23 councillors, the Azad group 10, Congress 14 and two, Manjit Singh Sethi and Harbinder Kaur Lang, are independents who had not announced their support to any party.

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On Tuesday, however, the Congress announced its support to the Azad group led by Kulwant Singh. The two independents were also seen siding with them, increasing their tally to 26. Mohali Congress MLA Balbir Singh Sidhu, too, has a vote. This could have hampered the SAD’s chances to get its mayor elected.

chandigarh mayoral polls, mayoral polls, mayor polls, chandigarh polls, chandigarh mayor, chandigarh news, india news A supporter breaks a car windowpane. (Source: Express Photo by Jasbir Malhi)

As soon as the proceedings commenced, SAD councillor B B Maini alleged that the SAD-BJP combine had not been allowed to interact with the other councillors as they were taken away by the other parties. Soon, sloganeering followed. The SAD-BJP councillors then stood around the Divisional Commissioner and Municipal Commissioner who were chairing the proceedings. One of them pushed the glass slab laid on the table in front of the officers, and it came crashing down right next to them.

Festive offer

Following this, the officials left the room. The councillors then threw their chairs down from the platform. Chaos ensued in the conference room for some time. Following this, the elections were cancelled.

However, the councillors of Azad group, Congress and the independents kept sitting in the room for around an hour, claiming that there was no official word on the cancellation.

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The roads outside the Municipal Corporation building in Sector 67, Mohali, were filled with supporters from all sides. As soon as the word spread that the elections were postponed, the supporters started shouting slogans. Some of them rushed to the adjoining vacant ground where construction material was kept, and started throwing bricks and stones. The police personnel were seen chasing them and resorting to canecharge. The protesters also smashed window panes of a few cars, including that of MLA Balbir Singh Sidhu.

Another group of people sat outside the MC building, shouting slogans against the SAD-BJP government, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal as well as Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, the halqa incharge of SAD.

Allegations, Counter-Allegations

After the ruckus, as the SAD-BJP councillors emerged from the Municipal Corporation, councillor Maini said, “I raised the issue with the officers that the elections will not be free and fair. Some of the councillors were kept at a secret place and we were not allowed to meet them. This is against our human rights. How will the councillors vote when there has been no interaction?”

Maini and the other councillors, however, refused to answer questions on the ruckus inside the House and left from another gate to avoid the crowds outside the MC building.

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Talking to Newsline, Ramoowalia said that the party had enough councillors to win the election. “When the Congress heard whispers that the independent councillors are ready to support us, they created a ruckus. They had kidnapped councillors. They are indulging in corruption and giving money. When the elections are held next, we are sure to win,” he said, denying that the SAD councillors created any ruckus.

MLA Sidhu said that this kind of situation was unprecedented. “The commissioner came to the meeting at 11 and did not announce any agenda. We were not given a hearing. Sensing their defeat, the SAD-BJP councillors started creating a ruckus. They broke the glass that was on the table and threw chairs. However, there was no intervention from the police. The local administration and police were hand in gloves with the SAD,” he said.

Asserting that the High Court order had been violated, Sidhu blamed Ramoowalia and SAD MP Prem Singh Chandumajra for orchestrating the ruckus. “They say horse-trading has taken place. All 23 SAD-BJP councillors are on one side. The remaining 26 are on the other. Where is the horse-trading? We are apprehensive that they will try to get cases registered against us,” he said.

Councillor Kulwant Singh said that they would explain the entire situation in the High Court during the next hearing of the case.

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Congress councillor Kuljit Singh Bedi had moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking that observers be appointed for the election and videography be done. Bedi said, “The hearing in the case is scheduled for Wednesday. The situation today was such that even the CCTV cameras that are installed in the conference room were not functional. Even the media was not allowed to enter.”

Sidelights

* Mobile phones of the councillors were taken away as they went to the conference room.

* The walls of the conference room that are made of glass were covered with curtains.

* As councillors of the Congress, Azad group and independents came out of the MC building, they were given a rousing welcome by their supporters, who garlanded them and raised slogans hailing them.

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* The media was not allowed to enter the MC building to cover the election. This led to protest by mediapersons.

First uploaded on: 19-08-2015 at 03:45 IST
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