Oppn to file petition against Mayor's election seeks Bansal's resignation over cell phone issue

Chandigarh : Opposition parties in the Chandigarh municipal corporation have demanded the resignation of union minister and local MP Pawan Kumar Bansal for interfering in the poll procedure to elect the Mayor. Bansal had allegedly overruled the instructions of not using camera cell phones in polling booths issued by presiding officer Brig Kuldeep Singh Chandpuri in the election held on January 1. They are now planning to send memoranda to the President of India, the Vice-President, the Lok Sabha Speaker and various senior leaders in Parliament. They alleged that Bansal’s attitude smacked of political “gundagardi” on the floor of the MC House by refusing to follow the instructions of the presiding officer. They said he had no moral right to hold the post of the MP, going by his behaviour in the MC House. Addressing mediapersons here today, former local MP and BJP leader Satpal Jain said the behaviour of Bansal on the floor of the House had hurt the sentiments of all parties. Jain claimed that Bansal had lost the trust of his own party councillors. That is why he had asked them to prove their loyalty by clicking pictures of their ballot paper as a proof of their voting for the party candidate. He claimed that if Congress councillors had not been asked to show their votes to the senior party leaders, the Congress would have mustered just eight votes. Raising an objection to the recount of votes, after the announcement had been made by the presiding officer, Jain questioned the need for the exercise when nobody had requested for a recount. RJD leader Ravinder Krishan alleged that the municipal corporation secretary had not played a fair role in the election and had acted in a biased manner, favouring