Hurt at ‘disrespect’, Kalia threatens to move SC panel

Friday’s incident appears to be a fallout of the acrimonious house meeting on January 30 when Kalia lashed out at the Commissioner, saying “Dhamki mat do”, when the latter was insisting that the house should respect the law. On Thursday, Kalia sent a message to the MC staff and councillors, saying that he had convened a meeting about the budget at 3 pm on Friday.

At 3.15 pm, 23 councillors, including Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor, reached the MC office only to find no official present. At 3.15 pm, Kalia’s staff called up some officials and learnt that the chief accounts officer was on leave. The staff requested the department to send any other official handling the CAO’s charge but no one came.

The mayor’s staff then got to know that the MC Commissioner had also convened a meeting at 3 pm. “It was embarrassing as 23 councillors were waiting. I then called up the Commissioner and requested him to send two section officers as everyone was waiting. He told me, ‘Dekhte hain’. Everyone kept waiting till 4.30 pm but when no official came, we dispersed without any discussion,” Kalia alleged.
Kalia alleged that earlier during the day when he had to go on a field visit to Sector 52, he called up the Chief Engineer, asking him to accompany him. “But he didn’t turn up and and sent an executive engineer instead. Whenever I call these officials, they say they are busy with the Commissioner. I feel hurt. Why are they doing this?” he said.

MC Commissioner K K Yadav, when contacted, denied having stood up the mayor. “I was not given any intimation about any such meeting. Rather he was with us around 1 pm when we had a meeting with GMADA. There was no intimation, nothing in writing as well to tell that he had called a meeting to discuss the budget. He called me around 3.44 pm to inform me about it and within five minutes, some officials reached the meeting hall where mayor convened the meeting,” Yadav said.

Yadav added that again around 7 pm, he called up the mayor to ask if there was any misunderstanding, but he said there was no issue.
Advocate Manbir Rathi told Chandigarh Newsline that the mayor can move the SC Commission only if “he is facing discrimination being SC and not otherwise”.