SMC team leaves for Gandhinagar

SURAT, Jan 4: One day after Leader of the House of Surat Municipal Corporation Natu Soma Patel said the elected wing would complain to th...

SURAT, Jan 4: One day after Leader of the House of Surat Municipal Corporation Natu Soma Patel said the elected wing would complain to the party high command against Municipal Commissioner S Jagadeesan, a delegation of elected representatives today left for Gandhinagar.

Led by Mayor Savita Sharda, the delegation members, including standing committee chairman Ajay Choksi and Natu Soma Patel, will call on Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel to 8220;apprise him of the developments8221; in Surat, especially the 8220;strained relationship8221; between the civic chief and the elected wing.

Patel told reporters that Jagadeesan had not taken standing committee chairman and mayor into confidence for preparing the 1999 budget. Not only that when the mayor called the commissioner, he did not turn up, he added.

Deputy Mayor Snehlata Chauhan, however, did not join the delegation saying that she was not informed about it. While former mayor Fakirbhai Chauhan said his wife, the deputy mayor, was not in town yesterday, he told Express Newsline that though he was asked to join the delegation, he could not 8220;because of other engagements8221;.

But in fact, Chauhan had an appointment with the Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel on January 5. A number of councillors were to go to Gandhinagar to submit a memorandum to the Chief Minister. 8220;Under the leadership of Narrottam Patel, Water Resource Minister, we were to meet the Chief Minister,8221; Chauhan said, adding that the five-point memorandum was signed by more than 50 councillors. The group led by Chauhan had demanded inquiry into the murder Nita Satbhaya in its memorandum.

8220;It seems that the mayor and standing committee chairman did want us to take the initiative. They told us that they also supported our demand8221;, a senior councillor, owning allegiance to Chauhan group said.

A vilification campaign against leader of the Chauhan group was launched in a section of media in the wake of Nita Sathhaya8217;s murder.8220;To get our names cleared we had demanded an inquiry into all issues raised by our political rivals,8221; Chauhan said. But apparently when this group stepped up its activities gaining support from all sections, the mayor and standing committee chairman were probably forced out of their slumber.