Scuffle breaks out between MLA, councillor’s husband

A scuffle broke out between Congress MLA Ashok Arora and Narinder Sharma, husband of a BJP councillor, following a spat before the House meeting of the Thanesar Municipal Council on Friday.

As per information, the spat—reportedly over the presence of women representatives in the meeting hall—took an ugly turn and they pushed each other, forcing other councillors to intervene. The uproar continued and the meeting was called off.

The police also reached the spot and had a tough time handling the situation.

On Thursday, a letter was issued by the executive officer of the council, instructing the councillors that as per the directions of the Urban Local Bodies Department, relatives of elected women representatives may not be allowed to attend the meeting of the House.

Arora said, “I reached there to attend the meeting and found outsiders in the hall. I asked the executive officer about the order, and that the outsiders should be told to leave. Meanwhile, the outsiders started misbehaving and shouting that there had been no such objections in the past.”

“They are levelling allegations of corruption against me, and the contractors are levelling allegations of corruption against the council. I will ask the councillors to pass a resolution to get an inquiry conducted by a sitting judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. I have raised the matter with the SP. If no action is taken in three days by the police, I will hold a meeting with my supporters and decided the course of action,” he added.

Sharma, on the other hand, said, “I had been a member of the House for over 20 years and supported Arora. But during the civic body elections, I joined the BJP, and hence, he has been harbouring animosity towards me. He abused and threatened to kill me. Of 32 members, 25 belongs to the BJP. He wanted to disturb the meeting because he is afraid that his corrupt practices will get exposed. We have raised the matter with the SP and sought action.”

MC Chairman Mafee Dhanda said, “They were arguing before the meeting and also hurled abuses, which is unfortunate. The meeting had to be called off.”

Meanwhile, District Municipal Commissioner Satinder Siwach said action would be taken.

Haryana Tribune