Srinagar mayor likely to face another no-confidence motion
Accusing him of misusing development funds to further his political career, some BJP councillors have announced to revoke their support to mayor Junaid Mattu
: Another no-confidence motion appears imminent against Srinagar mayor Junaid Mattu after some BJP councillors announced to revoke their support and accused him of misusing development funds to further his political career.
Deputy mayor Parvez Qadri on Tuesday also expressed his intention to take steps for Mattu’s removal. A group of BJP leaders and councillors on Monday had vowed support to various independent councillors to bring down the 37-year-old mayor and Apni Party leader Junaid Mattu, who had once received praise from the then governor Satya Pal Malik.
After his first election as the city mayor with the support of the BJP in 2018, this will be the fourth time that Mattu will face a no-confidence motion or election process – of which he won twice. BJP councillor Nazir Gilkar, flanked by a few BJP members at the party office in Srinagar, addressed a press conference on Monday after Mattu angrily refuted their allegations of misusing macadamisation funds to the tune of Rs 31 crore and spending them in just two constituencies of Srinagar.
“The mayor accepted that he used money in only two constituencies and that too in the green belt zone where the National Green Tribunal has banned macadamisation. We held a meeting with the party high command in Jammu and have decided to revoke support to the mayor,” Gilkar claimed. “If any independent group is filing a no-confidence motion, we are with them. We want to save this city which is lacking in development. The central government is giving money and we are also generating our own revenue, but all that money is being misused. We will write to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and Vigilance Bureau with proof,” he said.
Elected twice since 2018
After his first election in 2018,
Mattu became the Srinagar mayor for the second time in November 2020, after securing the support of 44 of the 70 councillors in the mayoral elections. The Srinagar municipal corporation has a total of 74 seats, of which four remain vacant.
Earlier, Mattu had lost a no-confidence motion in June 2020, when he had accused the National Conference (NC) and BJP of bringing him down. A year before that, in 2019 also, he had faced a no confidence motion, which he had won.
Mattu, who has hopped different parties, is currently associated with the Apni Party, which has nine councillors in the MC House. The BJP has seven to eight councillors, but it is not clear if all of them will support the no-confidence motion after party spokesperson Altaf Thakur on Tuesday lashed out at Gilkar and others for taking any such decision “without authorisation”. Majority of the councillors – around 40 – are said to be independent or not affiliated to any prominent political party.
‘80% funds used in two constituencies’
On November 15, Gilkar had accused Mattu of misusing government funds in the two constituencies of Hazratbal and Zadibal, as he had to fight elections from these constituencies.
“Rs 38.63 crore were released for macadamisation for the MC, but unfortunately Rs 31 crore have been used in only two constituencies. The amount should have been distributed for eight constituencies,” he had said. In response, Mattu had said, “If we could only manage Rs 40 crore, the reality is that the entire city cannot be covered in one year, it will be covered in two years.”
Mattu has been accused of ignoring major areas of Srinagar, comprising eight constituencies and 74 wards, which require equal development.
Locals say many important roads, lanes and bylanes of the city have not been macadimised for the past 8-10 years.
Deputy mayor also hits out at mayor
Deputy mayor Parvez Qadri, who is being accused of being close to the NC, also addressed the media on Tuesday and expressed dismay over the functioning of MC under mayor Mattu. “All people are fed up with the mayor. It’s not just me, but the whole city that is expressing this opinion. In the past four years, check how many times he has attended office or met any public delegations. His office remains locked and that is why we removed him in the past,” Qadri said.
‘Personal opinion, not party’s’
Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Altaf Thakur took exception to the announcement by Gilkar and other party leaders and said action will follow. “Whatever they said, it may be their personal opinion, not the party’s. Neither the party has given them any authority nor are they authorised to say whom the party should support or not,” he said.