Reacting sharply to the decision taken by the Aam Aadmi Party during the election of the Mayor of the Mohali Municipal Corporation, former Punjab Health Minister and senior Congress leader Balbir Singh Sidhu said that AAP has exposed its double standards by promoting dynastic politics in Mohali and abandoning the very principles it once claimed to stand for.
In a statement issued here today, Mr. Sidhu said that AAP has always made tall claims about giving political positions to volunteers from ordinary families. However, by appointing Sarabjit Singh Samana, the son of millionaire businessman and MLA Kulwant Singh, as Mayor of Mohali, the party has proved that there is a huge gap between its words and actions.
He said that while selecting the Mayor, the party completely ignored its own senior-most councillor Sukhdev Singh Patwari and experienced leaders such as senior state leader Dr. Sunny Ahluwalia. He said that despite constantly advocating the principle of “One Family, One Post,” AAP has openly promoted dynastic politics in Mohali.
As a result, the same family now holds both the MLA’s position and the Mayor’s office, which is a clear betrayal of councillors from ordinary backgrounds and the common people. Balbir Singh Sidhu said that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann used to accuse other parties of promoting dynastic politics and often targeted him personally, alleging that he had made his brother Mayor.
Today, however, his own so-called party of change has crushed the rights of ordinary workers and handed the Mayor’s post to the son of one of its MLAs. The Congress leader also raised serious questions about AAP’s anti-women mindset, stating that all three key positions in the Municipal Corporation Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor have been given exclusively to men, pushing women completely to the margins.
Despite women having equal participation in the Mohali elections, not a single woman councillor was given any position, exposing AAP’s discriminatory attitude towards women. Concluding his statement, the former minister said that the aware and intelligent people of Mohali have fully understood AAP’s authoritarian decision and its policy of favouring the wealthy. He asserted that in the coming days, the public will give a fitting reply to this dynastic politics and betrayal.