The employees of Kharar Municipal Council (MC) launched an indefinite strike on Friday against a surprise check terming it as “undue interference” in the affairs of the council.

Following an altercation between MC vice-president Jai Bhagwan Singla and Union president Mann Singh, the civic employees immediately suspended the work and staged a dharna inside the MC office to start their indefinite strike. Singla, in a representation to Director, Local Government, Punjab, on Thursday said he had asked MC EO to check the presence of employees in the office, following which MC EO assigned the task to MC Accountant, who Singla claimed found 28 employees marked present in the attendance register absent from the duty.

Singla, who ordered the MC Executive Officer (EO) to conduct a surprise check in the office, alleged the leaders of the MC Employees’ Union abused and threatened him with dire consequences in his office on Friday morning.

“Today, the union president came to my office and began abusing and threatening me over yesterday’s checking,” Singla alleged.

Denying Singla’s allegations, union president instead accused Singla of “undue interference” in MC affairs. “When I took the issue with him this morning, he misbehaved with me,” alleged Singh.

MC EO V.K. Gupta reached the office late in the evening and tried to pacify both the warring factions. “Though Union president and Singla agreed to bury the hatchet but on the insistence of a union leader, the formal announcement to end the agitation was deferred till Monday,” disclosed Gupta.