Marshalling out protesting non BJP councilors from the 20th General House Meeting (GHM) of Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) for raising issues of public interest has sent a wrong message about the functioning of Mayor Jammu, Mr. Rajinder Sharma who sat on the hot seat with the much vaunted slogan-Imaandar Jammu Shaandar Jammu. For record sake, this GHM was convened after a long gap of 5 months.
Watching the entire circus of GHM, the reverse was sighted yesterday, when non BJP and Independent Councilors’ resolutions of public interests viz drinking water crisis, frequent un-scheduled load shedding, non release of pension for widow, old aged and specially abled persons besides poor development of city wards were dropped from the agenda of the GHM. This promoted the agitating councilors to put their foot down leading to the expulsion of one councilor namely Prof. Yudhveer Singh, a retired Principal of Higher Education Department by the Mayor.
Mr Mayor justified his decision of expulsion citing the undesired dragging of PM Shri Narendra Modi by the expelled Councilor into the ongoing controversy. However, the action of Mayor is totally dictatorial as the demands for discussion projected by the aggrieved councilors were very genuine and have become matter of concern for every house hold in the city of Temples. More worst, one BJP councilor even used derogatory epithet for Prof. Yudhveer Singh as per a local TV telecast just for airing genuine grievances of the general public,
The Deputy Mayor Mr. Baldev Singh Billowaria while adding salt to the injury has described the genuine issues of agitating councilors as “technically unsound” and asserted that GHM was convened to pass Building Byes laws for the “larger interest of public”. Ironically, everyone is aware about the move of the BJP dominated GHM to amend Building Bye Laws which is nothing but a clever move to facilitate the big businessmen for opening of huge commercial establishments’ right in the congested residential areas. This is a move to push old city towards more chaos and confusion.
These are unhealthy developments and not expected from those presiding over the destiny of local populace merely to flaunt their loyalty to one political party for petty ends. There is strong resentment brewing among general public over the apathetic attitude of various government departments in addressing to the genuine grievances of the people at large and the simmering angst among the general public is grave enough to throw out the majority lot of councilors while exercising their ballot in the forthcoming local body elections.
There is also a warning bell for incumbent Mayor Mr. Rajinder Sharma whom the general public views as a man hungry for media glare and terms some of his action as –Tugahlaqi Farmans.