Gurgaon top civic posts go to Cong

Councillor from Ward 4 Vimal Yadav was elected as Mayor,Yashpal Batra of Ward 12 is Senior Deputy Mayor and Ward 6’s Parminder Kataria has been elected Deputy Mayor

The meeting was held at the HUDA Gymkhana Club in Sector 29,in the presence of Divisional Commissioner T K Sharma. The first post-elections meeting of the agency was earlier scheduled for June 14 but was postponed to June 21 and was expected to be rescheduled again. A city court,however,directed the agency to hold the meeting no later than June 21.

The voting for mayor’s post was through secret ballot and Yadav secured 20 votes,bagging a win over Seema Pahuja of Ward 11.

Six INLD councillors — Rishi Raj Rana (Ward 1),Gaje Singh (Ward 5),Shashi Kala (Ward 8),Sunita Kataria (Ward 14),Sonia (Ward 27) and Poonam (Ward 28) — walked out of the meeting after taking oath,choosing to not vote for the posts.

“This is an undemocratic way of conducting the meeting. No one wants to hear us. Largescale money has been distributed. It has already been decided by the Congress and that is why we do not want to be a part of the meeting,” said one of the INLD leaders.

Batra secured 19 votes to gain the post of Senior Deputy Mayor,while Kataria got 20 votes for the post of Deputy Mayor.

Nisha Singh,councillor from Ward 30,presided over the meeting.

“The elected members will hold the office for five years starting today. The election was conducted in a free and fair manner. The allegations by INLD members is totally unjustified. Three candidates were there for each of the three posts,” Sharma said.

Mayor Yadav told Newsline that his priority is to work for water supply. “Similarly,poor sewerage system and the rising crime would be my next targets,” he said.

Kataria said it is time to work together. “There are so many issues in the city that need to be addressed. All the elected members and councillors will now work together,” said Kataria.

Congress MP Rao Inderjeet Singh said: “Every party has difference of opinion,but that does not mean one would violate the law. The councillors themselves took the decision and reached a consensus for the posts.”

He added that since many areas in the city do not fall under the MCG,his fight for the constitution of a Gurgaon Development Authority will continue.