Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher, Mayor Kuldeep Kumar Tita face off at Rose fest

Speaking to The Indian Express, Tita said, “I was giving the speech for the first time… I didn’t even know what to speak… I was handed out the speech by the municipal corporation. It didn’t mention the MP’s name. I had never spoken on the stage in front of so many people and dignitaries… Somehow it skipped and before I could apologise to her… she embarrassed me from the stage and said during her speech that I didn’t take her name and I should have followed the protocol.”

The mayor added, “She could have said it separately and not by publicly embarrassing me. Anyway, I will take it as if my mother said it.”

Speaking to The Indian Express, Kher said, “When I met him outside, I congratulated him. We sat in the golf cart and went around… but when he addressed people, right from Governor to adviser, he took all the names and not mine… I felt so deeply hurt. He did it purposely. It was so ridiculous on his part.”

When Kher was told that Tita alleged that she embarrassed him publicly, she said, “He insulted me publicly… When you assume charge of this position, you should leave all politics behind and think as a city mayor and also follow the protocol.”

The new mayor said, “Even later, the MP kept saying I am doing politics even while I explained to her that it was not intentional.”

The three-day Chandigarh Rose festival kicked off Friday with UT Administrator Banwarilal Purohit inaugurating it.

The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation has approved Rs 1 crore for the Rose festival. This is the 52nd edition of the festival.

Meanwhile, the tourism department is also hosting musical performances on the ground opposite the Government museum in the evenings as part of the Rose festival.

The concluding evening on Sunday will see famous Bollywood singer Ankit Tiwari perform at the venue from 6.30 pm onwards.