Arjun Singh removed from post of Bhatpara municipality chairman
Kolkata: Arjun Singh, who recently joined the BJP from Trinamool Congress and will contest on the saffron party's ticket from Barrackpore in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, has been removed from the post of municipal chairman at Bhatpara after a no-confidence motion was passed against him through secret ballot.
After he joined BJP, Trinamool Congress leaders had decided to issue a no-confidence motion in the 34-member Bhatpara Municipality in North 24-Parganas. The no-confidence motion was passed against Singh on Monday through secret ballot, where he lost 21-11.
This may be a major cause of concern for Singh ahead of the elections. He was a four time Trinamool Congress MLA from the Bhatpara Assembly constituency and had been the chairman of the Bhatpara Municipality since 2010.
He shifted his political allegiance towards BJP after being denied ticket from Barrackpore. Trinamool Congress MP Dinesh Trivedi has been pitted against Singh in Barrackpore, which will go to poll on May 6.
Singh has, however, claimed that the process in which the no-confidence motion was brought is totally undemocratic. "The people of Bhatpara will give a befitting reply to TMC in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls," Singh maintained.
Senior TMC leaders in the district said the people do not want a "corrupt person" as their municipality chairman and the councillors were reluctant to continue under his leadership. Hence, they removed Singh from the post.
Soon after the no-confidence motion was passed, a party office of BJP in Bhatpara was ransacked and some BJP leaders were injured in the incident. The party has alleged that Trinamool Congress backed goons were behind the attack.
The matter has, however, been brought to the notice of the Election Commission, which has instructed the District Election Officer (DEO) of North 24-Parganas to take stringent action against those found guilty. A report has also been sought from the DEO in this regard. The DEO has also been asked to ascertain who had ransacked the party office and with what intention.
