Nine elected councillors from the Congress party have submitted a formal complaint to Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav, accusing DSP Morinda Gurjit Singh and other police personnel of preventing them from exercising their voting rights during the election for the president of the Morinda Municipal Council. The complaint alleges that the police administration illegally barred them from participating in the election process held on July 10 and used force against them.
Election results and majority dispute
On Thursday, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) succeeded in installing Jagpal Singh Jolly, an Independent candidate who later joined AAP, as the president of the Morinda Municipal Council. This outcome occurred despite the Congress party holding a majority in the House with 10 elected councillors. With nine Congress councillors signing the complaint against the police, it is inferred that one Congress councillor defected to AAP. However, the Congress still retains a majority with 9 out of 15 councillors in the House.
Allegations of police misconduct and confinement
According to the complaint, the councillors arrived at the Municipal Council office before the scheduled election time but found the area heavily barricaded and converted into a police-controlled zone. They alleged that the large deployment of police personnel created an atmosphere of fear among the elected members. After crossing the barricades and entering the office, police officials directed all of them to wait inside the president's room on the pretext that the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) had not yet arrived. However, the room was locked from outside, amounting to illegal confinement, the councillors claimed.
One of the councillors, Surinder Kaur, reportedly became terrified after finding the room locked and alleged that the situation could have turned dangerous had she not been taken out in time. The councillors repeatedly protested against their confinement and raised slogans demanding their constitutional right to vote. Sanitation workers who were staging a protest inside the Municipal Council office also came forward in their support, the complaint stated.
Oath not administered and election declared without voting
The complainants further alleged that without allowing them to cast their votes or completing the prescribed election process, the administration declared the election of the Municipal Council president. They accused the administration of acting under political pressure and claimed that the president was appointed without following due procedure. The councillors also stated that they had not even been administered the oath as Municipal Council members before the election process, describing the entire exercise as illegal and unconstitutional.
The complaint also alleges that former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi was pushed, manhandled, and prevented from entering the Municipal Council premises despite accompanying the elected representatives.
Demand for legal action and investigation
Seeking intervention from the DGP, the complainants demanded registration of a criminal case against DSP Gurjit Singh and other police officials involved, and requested an impartial inquiry into the alleged denial of their democratic and constitutional rights during the election. The complaint has been signed by councillors Mandeep Singh Bajwa, Rajesh Kumar Sisodia, Mahendra Singh Dhillon, Kamaljit Kaur, Skander Kaur, Surinder Kaur, Gunjan Sood, Neha Sharma, and Pinky Kaur.
SSP Ropar Maninder Singh, when contacted, said, “No complaint from Morinda Congress councillors has reached me. I shall probe the matter once the complaint reaches me.”
