Ludhiana's Municipal Corporation (MC) has come under fire from opposition parties after Mayor Inderjit Kaur completed the formation of the powerful Finance and Contracts Committee (F&CC) without including any opposition councillors. Senior Congress leaders have warned that they will challenge the appointments in court, accusing the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of undermining democratic traditions and bypassing the MC General House.
Mayor inducts sons of two AAP MLAs
On Wednesday, Mayor Kaur inducted Aman Bagga, son of MLA Madan Lal Bagga, and Yuvraj Sidhu, son of MLA Kulwant Singh Sidhu, into the six-member panel. The committee now comprises Mayor Kaur, Senior Deputy Mayor Rakesh Parashar, Deputy Mayor Prince Johar, Municipal Commissioner Ojasvi Alankar, Aman Bagga, and Yuvraj Sidhu. Notably, not a single councillor from opposition parties—Congress or BJP—has been included.
Opposition cries foul
Former Senior Deputy Mayor Shyam Sunder Malhotra accused the ruling party of acting arbitrarily. “If the appointments are not withdrawn, we will challenge them in court,” he said, pointing out that traditionally, one opposition member was always accommodated in the F&CC. Congress councillor Gaurav Bhatti called the move “a disgrace to democracy,” adding that proper elections should have been held and that the voice of the opposition has been deliberately suppressed.
Regional imbalance sparks debate
The new composition has also raised concerns over regional representation. Both the North constituency and Atam Nagar now enjoy double representation: Parashar and Bagga are from North, while Johar and Sidhu are from Atam Nagar. The South, Central, and West constituencies have been left out entirely. Political observers see this as a tilt towards influence rather than balance.
Congress demands transparency
Punjab Congress secretary Dhruv Aggarwal demanded that MLA Madan Lal Bagga issue a “white paper” on how many youths outside his family have secured government jobs. He alleged that while the government claims to have given 65,000 jobs, the reality is different. Aggarwal listed multiple family members of Bagga drawing salaries from the state exchequer and urged transparency through public disclosures.
BJP terms appointments ‘open bullying’
BJP councillor Rohit Sikka termed the appointments as “open bullying and corruption,” alleging that the Mayor and the Commissioner acted under pressure from ruling party MLAs. He warned that the Opposition would press for cancellation of the appointments, saying: “It’s nothing but a mockery of democracy.” Despite repeated attempts, the Mayor was not available for comment.
