A majority of councillors of the ruling Akali-BJP alliance in the Patiala Municipal Corporation on Monday revolted against the mayor and boycotted the proceedings of the MC General House. Of the 44 councillors present in the 50-member House today, 23 of the ruiling alliance boycotted the meeting even before it had commenced.

Ironically, while the Akali and BJP councillors boycotted the meet, the lone four councillors of the Opposition Congress party kept sitting in House and participated in the meeting. Only 21 members were present and the quorum for carrying out the meeting was complete.

Today’s meeting of the Patiala MC House was held after five months to discuss the pending issues. Earlier too, the ruling alliance councillors have been boycotting the House meetings, as many of them are against the continuation of Ajit Pal Singh Kohli as the mayor.

Sources say that soon after the start of the meeting, senior deputy mayor Anil Bajaj sought to discuss the issue of Sangat Darshan funds for the Patiala MC, which was not part of the House agenda. When the MC Commissioner sought to first complete the agenda items and then raise the issue of Sangat Darshan funds, Bajaj and other ruling councillors got into a heated discussion with the mayor and walked out of the House.

The situation turned volatile after Anil Bajaj, senior deputy mayor from the BJP, questioned the Chief Minister for not giving Rs 20 crore of the promised Rs 30 crore for the development of Patiala.

Bajaj and others also sought to know details of the money spent on development out of the Sangat Darshan funds received so far. They also charged said grants received for Patiala’s MC were being used for other purposes, including the return of loans taken by the MC. This agitated the mayor, who got back at him a heated exchange of words ensued between the mayor and other agitating councillors. Kohli added that instead of raising the matters publicly and lowering the image of the ruling alliance, the councillors could have come to him and sought details. “No councillor has come to me in the last five months regarding this issue.”