Did better as councillor than as mayor: Raja

Tribune News Service

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Jalandhar, January 24

“I am not satisfied with my tenure as Mayor,” said Jagdish Raja (67) whose tenure ended today. He got in conversation with The Tribune and shared his feelings. According to the outgoing Mayor, his time as a councillor was better than as a mayor because of several compulsions. Raja faced opposition from his party councillors too, which he said always hurt him.

On his last day in the office, Raja shared that people always misunderstood him and blamed him for the pending works which were ‘actually’ under the Smart City. Every time general house meeting happened, the mayor always found himself in the tight spot. Everyone would point fingers at him and he would always remain calm and patient. “I did not want to create any controversy by saying something in reply, which is why I used to remain quiet. But I always gave every councillor a chance to speak, unlike previous mayors who always passed agendas in minutes,” Raja said.

“One thing I am confident about is that the development took place in every ward,” he shared, adding that he was always open to new ideas. “I am always open to improvement. When I am right, I take stand but if I am wrong, I don’t mind apologising.”

What next? “I will contest the elections if people want. I want to serve my ward. I will continue to do so whatever the result is,” Raja concluded. The Mayor also named several projects which he wanted to get completed, but due to several reasons, couldn’t. Raja had earlier also shared that the MC officials never listened to him which was wrong.

Stayed away from controversies

I did not want to create any controversy by saying something in reply, which is why I used to remain quiet. unlike previous Mayors, I always gave every councillor a chance to speak. — Jagdish Raja, outgoing mayor

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