Sidhu had joined the BJP along with his elder brother and former cabinet minister Balbir Singh Sidhu. (Facebook)Mohali Mayor Amarjeet Singh Sidhu submitted his reply to the Punjab local bodies department regarding a show-cause notice, here on Friday. Sidhu was directed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on September 29 to file the reply after a petition was dismissed.
In his reply, the mayor said that he did not give any undue financial benefit to Amritpreet Housing Cooperative Society and that the work orders of the society were awarded by following due procedure. The mayor also alleged in his reply that the allegations against him were politically motivated and that he never recommended any work for the society.
The opposition, however, said that the mayor had violated the Municipal Corporation Act and should step down on moral grounds.
Opposition councillor Sukhdev Singh Patwari said that the mayor had not said anything on the violation of rules and that the matter should be thoroughly probed and the mayor should step down immediately.
In August this year, the Punjab local bodies department issued a notice to the mayor after councillors lodged a complaint that he had awarded developmental works of more than Rs 50 lakh to Amritpreet Housing Cooperative Society, pf which he is a member.
The notice issued by the department said that before taking action, the department would give a chance to Sidhu to submit his reply. Sidhu approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the notice but the court dismissed his petition on September 30 and directed him to submit his reply within 15 days.
The councillors had lodged a complaint with the principal secretary of the department on August 10, alleging that the mayor had favoured the housing society.
Sidhu had joined the BJP along with his elder brother and former cabinet minister Balbir Singh Sidhu. The Congress’s state president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring had said that they will remove the mayor as the party’s councillors are united.
But the mayor claimed the support of at least 18 out of 37 councillors of the Congress. The House has 50 councillors. AAP has ten councillors while three are independent, who are close to AAP MLA Kulwant Singh.