Cong councillor questions midnight diplomacy, BJP silence

Ludhiana: BJP leaders midnight rapprochement with the mayor, who they had been gunning for, has not gone down well with Congress councillor Gaurav Bhatti. Observing that the leaders had been avoiding queries by media persons, Bhatti questioned their silence.

Meanwhile, mayor Inderjit Kaur and leader of BJP councillors in the MC house, Poonam Ratra, issued a joint statement announcing the end of "misunderstandings".

BJP councillors and leaders Anil Sarin, Rajnish Dhiman, Gurdev Sharma Debi, and Jatinder Mittal were present in the meeting, which was attended by mayor Inderjit Kaur, MLAs Madan Lal Bagga, and Daljit Singh Grewal of AAP. Councillors said that the FIR registered against five councillors and 20 unidentified persons was discussed in the meeting and it was announced that the ASI on whose statement it was registered would roll back the complaint.

In a video of the joint statement, Ratra said, "The misunderstanding regarding development works of the city has ended, and now we will think positively about development of the wards. We will work together to give facilities to the public."

Mayor Inderjit Kaur said, "We have ended our conflicts after talking to each other. Earlier also, I had no issues in approving development works, and in future, I will continue working for the betterment of my city."

The outward bonhomie had an undercurrent of secrecy. Although BJP state general secretary Anil Sarin said that the party would share details with the media at a press conference, it was not convened. Party's district president Rajnish Dhiman did not respond to phone calls.

Congress councillor from ward number 26, Gaurav Bhatti, posted on social media, "A midnight meeting between the Ludhiana Mayor and BJP leaders held at PAU, with strict instructions to keep the media at bay and the public uninformed. This secrecy raises suspicions, and the people of Ludhiana are eager to know what transpired. The BJP should clarify, did the Mayor admit to her mistake? Did she acknowledge that she falsely filed FIRs against the councillors to intimidate them and agreed to have them quashed? Or did the BJP councillors concede and ask for the FIRs to be withdrawn without getting an apology from the Mayor?

Sources said that AAP MLAs intervened under pressure from the party, which was worried about the repercussions it would have on its image. They added that the protest, which was the longest for the MC, was quite taxing for BJP leaders.

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