Congress leader is Faridkot MC chief

BATHINDA: A Congress-backed candidate was on Wednesday elected the president of Faridkot (MC) municipal council, following a long-drawn fight over the seat with the Shiromani Akali Dal.
Amar Kumar Binnu got the backing of 14 of the 25 councillors of the MC. Congress MLA Kushaldeep Singh Dhillon, who also has a vote in the MC, backed Binnu. Most Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) councillors remained absent.Earlier, SAD-backed MC president Uma Grover was removed from the post on February 13, 2019. Punjab local government principal secretary A Venu Prasad had, in an order dated February 13, 2019, removed her from the post for at least two wrongdoings. One, for trying to promote 10 employees without the report of the council's executive officer and accounts department; and two, for not signing the MC's proceedings book after a meeting on February 5, 2018.
Action was taken against Grover on a report prepared by deputy director local government. However, terming the move politically motivated, Grover decided to approach the high court against her ouster.