AHMEDABAD, JAN 10
A total of 11 corporators of Congress resigned from the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) in Gujarat due to the disagreement over the appointment of the opposition leader, a corporator, who had staked claim to the post, said on Sunday. However, a Gujarat Congress spokesperson said that these corporators have not resigned but only presented their views on the issue.
The Congress had 24 corporators in the 192-member AMC, which is ruled by the BJP.
Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM had won seven seats of corporators in February last year.
“Eleven corporators, including myself, have resigned from the party and have given our letters to the state president expressing our disagreement over the name of the leader of the opposition. We are not happy with the decision to appoint Shehzad Pathan as the leader of the opposition in the AMC,” said Kamla Chavda.
She claimed to enjoy the support of many corporators for the post of LoP. The 11 corporators, who submitted their resignations to state Congress president Jagdish Thakor, are not happy with the proposal to appoint Shehzad Pathan as the leader of the opposition, Chavda said.
Pathan is the national secretary of the Youth Congress. He had been arrested in connection with CAA/NCR protests in the Muslim-dominated Shah-e-Alam locality of Ahmedabad in 2020.
However, Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said that these corporators have not resigned but presented their views over the names of the leader of the opposition before the state president. He said the name of the LoP is not finalised yet.
Doshi said that Congress had undertaken a “consultation exercise” for the appointment of Leader of Opposition in the AMC. He said Congress leader Naresh Rawal and MLA CJ Chavda, appointed as observers for the purpose, have discussed the matter with all the corporators, Ahmedabad MLAs, and the state president.
“The consultation process is over but the name of the LoP is not yet finalised. It can be decided at any time. Congress corporators are united against the government’s failure to provide basic amenities like drinking water and roads in many areas of Ahmedabad,” he said.
