Ashok Gehlot Government Suspends BJP Mayor, Mayor Says Government Was Supporting Those Who Do Wrong Things; BJP Vows To Fight Back

The Rajasthan government led by Ashok Gehlot suspended the Jaipur Greater Municipal Corporation mayor and three councillors for allegedly misbehaving with the commissioner of the municipal corporation last week.

The matter has taken a political turn. The Rajasthan BJP unit has reacted to the development. State president Satish Poonia has reportedly said that the BJP will fight for the three members. He has added that the suspension of the mayor is unfortunate and it will lead to the fall of Congress.

Somya Gurjar, the Jaipur Greater Municipal Corporation mayor, was suspended along with two councillors—Ajay Singh Chauhan and Paras Jain (members of the Bharatiya Janata Party) and a third councillor Shankar Sharma (independent) for allegedly “manhandling commissioner”, reports say.

The suspended mayor has reportedly said that the action was politically motivated. She has said, "satya pareshan ho sakta hai paraajit nahin (truth may struggle but cannot be defeated)".

She has been quoted as saying: “The allegations are baseless. I never thought that this would be the result of working honestly. The government’s act is due to political animosity. It is supporting those who are doing wrong things. I have full faith in the judiciary".

Reportedly, this is the first time that a serving mayor in Rajasthan has been suspended.

Gurjar is said to have brought a matter relating to a company engaged in door to door garbage collection to the commissioner's notice.

She reportedly pointed out in a letter to the commissioner that the company was going on strike and this would become a hindrance to the well being of the citizens and was putting unnecessary pressure on the municipal corporation. In the meeting on the matter, conversations heated up and she reportedly levelled charges on the commissioner.

Reports say that they are accused of manhandling, pushing and abusing commissioner Yagya Mitra Singh Deo in the mayor’s chamber, where he is said to be attending a meeting relating to a company that's engaged in the work of garbage collection.

Gurjar was elected as mayor of newly formed Jaipur Greater Municipal Corporation last year.

Interestingly, the Gehlot government has brought in Sheel Dhabhai (BJP) to replace Gurjar as the mayor after her suspension.

Dhabhai was a strong contender for the poll held last year and she was reportedly upset when it became clear that Gurjar would eventually contest the election for the post of the mayor of Jaipur Greater Municipal Corporation.

Dhabhai is serving as the mayor for the second time.

The BJP has opposed the suspension of Gurjar and is looking at the development as largely a move from the Congress towards hindering the work of a mayor elected from the BJP.

Dhabhai's entry under the Congress government has seen sections of the media claim that Dhabhai is a Vasundhara Raje loyalist. The sections of the media are highlighting that the Gehlot government has brought in a Raje loyalist.

The state unit of the BJP is watching these developments carefully.

The BJP is looking at the development as a ploy from the Congress to divert people's attention from the widening cracks in the senior leadership in Congress. It is looking at the development in Jaipur as a diversionary tactic which is aimed at taking away people's attention from the issue of misuse of vaccines to fight Covid, and other failures relating to the handling of the Covid situation in Rajasthan.

A member of the state unit has said that Dhabhai is a member of the united BJP family, and her contribution to BJP's work in Jaipur previously itself explains that BJP members work in unison.

Sections of the media have called Dhabhai's entry under the Congress government a "masterstroke", saying that the Congress has played the Gurjar card.