Petition: Will SEC disqualify 10 Congress Corporators for defying party whip?
Neyaz Elahi
Srinagar, Jan 11, KNT: At least 10 Corporators of Congress party who deified the party whip today appeared before State Election Commissioner of Jammu and Kashmir.
Congress Party has filed a petition seeking disqualification of these Congress Corporators who went against party whip and voted for the incumbent Srinagar Mayor Junaid Azam Mattu.
On the directions of Jammu Kashmir Congress President G.A Mir and senior Congress leader Tariq Hameed Karra, whip was issued through Chief Whip Basharat-Bin- Qadir to vote in favour of Sheikh Muhammed Imran in recently concluded Mayoral elections.
Ten Corporators from Congress party defied the whip and instead of voting for Sheikh Muhammad Imran voted for Junaid Azam Mattu.
Sources told Kashmir News Trust that Congress Chief Whip Basharat-Bin- Qadir who is also a Corporator filed a petition before State Election Commissioner K.K. Sharma seeking the disqualification of these 10 ‘turncoats’.
These 10 rebel Corporators were Shafat Ghaffar, Ziyarat Batamaloo (Ward 21), Farooq Dar – Chanapora (Ward 11), Sara Bilal – Lokut Dal (Ward 64), Zahoor Hussain Rather – Hamdania Colony (Ward 17), Haseena Bano- Chattarhama (Ward 73), Shameema Khan – Bemina East (Ward 26), Gulshan Bilal – Syed Ali Akbar (Ward 34), Showkat Kak – Makhdoom Sahib (Ward 41), Syeda – Shaheed Gunj (Ward 22) and Ghulam Rasool Hajam – Zainakote (Ward 30).
The Counselor for the applicant, Advocate Shujah-ul-Haq told Kashmir News Trust that all the 10 Corporators appeared before the Election Commissioner. These Corporators sought time to file their objections. “The time to file objections was granted and the case was listed for the next hearing on 11 February next month,” he said adding that the applicant has vehemently pleaded that all these 10 Corporators violated election rules and ought to be disqualified.
The Mayor candidate Sheikh Muhammad Imran against whom these Corporators voted in a tweet said that the good thing is that even the Congress Party can’t forgive these Corporators this time because, the Law says so and he would simply say Congress Corporators will be disqualified from the Council for defying party whip for money.
The incumbent Mayor Junaid Azam Mattu had secured 44 out of 70 votes in recently concluded Mayoral election at Srinagar Municipal Corporation. (KNT)
