Punjab's Local Bodies Department on Friday cancelled the membership of Mohali Mayor Amarjeet Singh Sidhu after wrapping up a probe in an alleged case of ‘Clash of Interest’. Following the cancellation of his membership, Amarjeet Sidhu will now be required to resign from the post of Mohali's mayor. In its order issued on Friday, the Local Bodies department said that Amarjeet Singh Sidhu had violated Section 63 of Punjab Municipal Corporation (MC) Act and therefore his membership as a councillor had been cancelled under Section 36 of the MC Act. Deputy Mayor Kuljeet Singh Bedi told The Indian Express that Sidhu was in the US and that the further course of action would soon be chalked out. Sidhu was not available for comment. Sidhu is the younger brother of former state health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu. He was elected mayor of the Mohali municipal corporation last year. He had joined the BJP along with his brother Balbir Singh Sidhu in June this year. Amarjeet had been elected as Mohali's Mayor last year. The councillors of Mohali Municipal Corporation on August 10 this year had lodged a complaint to the Principal Secretary of Local Bodies Department, alleging that Amarjeet Sidhu had favoured a housing society, Amritpreet Cooperative Society Limited. The department had later issued a show cause notice to the mayor in September this year and asked him to file his reply within 15-days. Subsequently, on September 30, the Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed Sidhu’s petition challenging the show cause notice. In his reply filed on October 14, the mayor had dubbed the complaint against him as ‘politically motivated’and sought time for a personal hearing in the allegations. Sidhu finally appeared before the Local Bodies minister in December and termed the allegations against him as ‘politically motivated’. Race on for new Mayor With the dismissal of Sidhu’s membership, the race for filling up the vacant mayor's spot has heated up. At present, the Congress has 34 councillors in a 50-member house, while the AAP has 10 councillors. Amarjeet Singh Sidhu had joined the BJP while the Congress had expelled Deputy Mayor Kuljeet Bedi and Senior Deputy Mayor Amrik Singh Somal for anti-party activities. Congress may fall short In the present House, the Congress has 34 elected councillors. However, sources said that at least 12 councillors had thrown their support behind Amarjeet. The Congress, therefore, may fall short of the majority mark of 26 councillors and may need the support of independents and other parties to sail through. Mayor probables Senior Congress leader Rishab Jain is the front-runner for the Mayoral post. At the time of Amarjeet Sidhu being elected as the Mayor, his elder brother and then Punjab minister Balbir Sidhu had offered to split the tenure equally with Jain. Jain, who was a Senior Deputy Mayor in the previous House, is the senior most councillor at present. The other names making the rounds are those of Narpinder Singh Rangi who was elected councillor for the first time.
