PCC to challenge MC poll validity: Tewari - VAT on sugar a bitter pill, says Ludhiana Congress MP
Saturday, 21/07/2012
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120721/punjab.htm#5
The Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) will take legal recourse to challenge the constitutional validity of the Municipal Corporation elections in Ludhiana, Patiala, Jalandhar and Amritsar.
Talking to mediapersons, Ludhiana MP and national spokesperson of the Congress Manish Tewari, claimed that a “Constitutional vacuum” had been created in the state. “Virtually, there are two Houses existing in each corporation. The elections are to be held after the House is dissolved. Post-elections, the previous Houses should be presumed to be dissolved. And till the time the new councillors are sworn in, the House does not exist,” Tewari said.
Accusing the state government of rushing through the MC elections, he alleged that the people had to bear the brunt of the confusion created because of the “haste” shown by the government. “While the new councillors say they are yet to be sworn in, those who have lost the elections tell the people that they no longer hold a position.”
Flaying the Akali-BJP coalition government for its decision to levy VAT and surcharge on sugar, he said the decision smacked of arbitrariness on the part of the state government.
“The state is bankrupt. The Punjab Chief Minister should tell us about the roadmap to bring the state out of this financial distress,” the MP said.
Admitting that there was some measure of demoralisation in the Congress rank and file, he said the party defeat in the MC poll had nothing to do with it. He alleged that the MC poll were neither free nor fair. “Nevertheless, the party needs to get its act together,” he said.
On the leadership issue, he said the decision on the matter was the Congress president’s prerogative.
He dismissed charges that some senior Congress leaders were hobnobbing with the Akalis. He admitted that certain tactical errors, including faulty ticket distribution and a flawed campaign strategy, had cost the party dear in the assembly elections.
He reiterated that he would contest the Lok Sabha elections from the Ludhiana parliamentary constituency and that there was no question of his opting for another constituency.
