The Hindu : New Mayor promises a clean administration

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Tuesday, Apr 08, 2003

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New Mayor promises a clean administration

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI APRIL 7. The Congress Councillor from Hauz Khas, Ashok K. Jain, today took over as the new Mayor of Delhi with a promise to continue with urban governance reforms with the same vigour as his predecessor Jaishree Panwar had done.

``It is not only essential for all-round development of the Capital but also to provide a clean and transparent administration to the people,'' said Mr. Jain, who defeated the BJP Councillor from Pratap Nagar, Onkar Singh Thapar, in the election by a margin of 86 votes.

Mr. Jain was proclaimed the new Mayor by the presiding officer and Minto Road Councillor, Ramesh Datta, at Town Hall in the Walled City.

While 107 Councillors voted in favour of Mr. Jain, only 21 supported the nomination of Mr. Thapar for the post of Mayor. The BJP, which has 16 members in a House of 134 elected Councillors, managed to get the support of five independents.

The Congress Councillor from Raghubarpura, Varyam Kaur, was elected Deputy Mayor. Ms. Kaur defeated the Bahujan Samaj Party Councillor from Gokulpur, Prem Lata, by 83 votes. While Ms. Kaur bagged 103 votes, Ms. Lata got 20.

In his maiden speech, Mr. Jain assured the Councillors that he would try his best to come up to their expectations. Asserting that he believed in peaceful co-existence, Mr. Jain said he would strive hard to continue with the urban reforms in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and work above party politics.

Congratulating the new Mayor, the Leader of House, Ram Babu Sharma, hoped that under Mr. Jain's leadership, the MCD would provide a clean and transparent civic administration. "Your predecessor had worked for all round development of the Capital by unleashing a series of reforms. She also worked to fulfil the promises the party made in its election manifesto. I am sure, the MCD would continue with these measures,'' he said.

The Leader of Opposition, Subhash Arya, hoped that the new Mayor would not neglect members from the Opposition parties. Mr. Thapar, who is also the Deputy Leader of Opposition in MCD, hoped that Mr. Jain would work above "party politics''. Mr. Thapar, who was running high temperature, said that increase of five votes in his favour indicated the declining support of the ruling party in the MCD.

Mr. Thapar's statement that the ruling party was not giving due weitage to the Muslim agitated the Congress Councillors who stood up to oppose his remarks. "The entire country knows about the attitude of the BJP towards Muslims. We do not require a certificate in this regard from the BJP,'' Mr. Sharma said.

Offering hearty congratulations to Mr. Jain, Ms. Panwar in her speech termed him as an honest and dedicated person who cares for the masses from his heart. The Municipal Commissioner, Rakesh Mehta, assured Mr. Jain of full cooperation from the executive wing of the MCD. "I am sure that the MCD under your leadership would be able to meet the challenges successfully,'' he said.

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