Four BJP councillors side with Cong against Phagwara Mayor

Ashok Kaura

Phagwara, November 22

The rift within the Phagwara BJP has surfaced once again with four BJP councillors, said to be from the Sampla faction, along with two BSP councillors siding with the Congress councillors to protest the “illegal” acts of Mayor Arun Khosla. Khosla is said to be from the faction of MLA Som Prakash.

The other 12 BJP councillors stayed away from the campaign of the Congress councillors against the Mayor.

As many as 22 councillors, including 13 of the Congress, two of the BSP, three independents and four of the BJP, have submitted a letter to Punjab Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and Director, Local Bodies, KK Yadav against the “illegal and unruly” act of Phagwara MC Mayor Arun Khosla, accusing him of making changes in the proposals agreed upon at the general body meeting held on August 9, thus forwarding only selected proposals in connivance with a few MC employees. They sought immediate intervention by the higher-ups.

Block Congress committee (urban) president-cum-councillor Sanjeev Bugga and Munish Parbhakar, another Congress councillor, while giving details of the letter, said suitable action should be taken against the Mayor and the proposals of the MC’s August 9 meeting sent by the Mayor should be stayed. They expressed apprehension that the Mayor would have forwarded changed proposals instead of those discussed at the MC meeting on November 17 in which unanimous resolution was passed to cancel the contract of a private contractor for publicity hoardings.

The signatories include councillors MM Thapar,Vikki Sood, Om Parkash Bittu and Harjinder Kaur of the BJP; Purnima and Ramesh Kaul of the BSP; Davinder Sapra and Rupali Sapra (Independents) besides 13 councillors of the Congress, said Sanjeev Bugga.

When contacted, the Mayor rubbished the allegations. “Nothing against the rules has been done,” he said. Meanwhile, BJP councillors Anurag Mankhand, a loyalist of the Som Prakash faction, too stood for the removal of illegal vendors from the Hargobind Nagar road and its Chaupati to deal with traffic chaos.

The Congress has also been demanding the removal of encroachments.

The issue

22 councillors, including 13 of the Congress, two of the BSP, three independents and four of the BJP have accused Mayor Arun Khosla of making changes in the proposals agreed upon at the general body meeting held on August 9, thus forwarding only selected proposals in connivance with a few MC employees.