BJP chief, Sr Dy Mayor skip inauguration

Sandeep Rana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 28

Factionalism in the ruling BJP was evident today as city BJP chief and senior councillor Arun Sood and Senior Deputy Mayor and area councillor Ravi Kant Sharma among other councillors gave a miss to the inauguration ceremony of the 48th Rose Festival organised by the Municipal Corporation at Rose Garden here.

Only the councillors close to MP Kirron Kher, who inaugurated the event, were seen at the inauguration. Of a total of 20 elected BJP councillors, only five, including Maheshinder Singh Sidhu, Chanderwati Shukla’s husband Papu Shukla, Rajesh Kalia and Jagtar Singh (also Deputy Mayor), most of whom are considered close to the MP, were spotted at the event.

While other councillors, including Sood, Ravi Kant, Asha Jaswal, Davesh Moudgil, Sunita Dhawan, Heera Negi, Shakti Prakash Devshali, Bharat Kumar and Rajesh Kumar Gupta, were not present at the ceremony. However, Ravi Kant said he and others visited Rose Garden after the inauguration.

Recently, two councillors had a verbal duel with Mayor Raj Bala Malik, who is close to the MP. So much so that Senior Deputy Mayor Ravi Kant had to tell MC Commissioner KK Yadav at the House meeting not to print his name in the Rose Fest invitation cards as the local councillor of Sector 16. He was angry when he was told that the Mayor did not include him in the organising committee. However, the cards were already printed.

Also, former Mayor Asha Jaswal also had heated arguments with Raj Bala Malik at the last House meeting. Councillor Jaswal got furious when in the middle of her address, the MC Secretary stopped the House meeting for a tea break. Addressing the Mayor, Jaswal said that was unfair and that she should have stopped the Secretary.

The party has been divided in two or three groups for a long time now.

Meanwhile, Sood said he had some other engagements due to which he could not attend the event.