Srinagar: Junaid Azim Mattu Tuesday resigned as Mayor of Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) after losing No-Confidence Motion moved against him by the dissidents backed by former Deputy Mayor.
Pertinently some Corporators from Srinagar led by former Deputy Mayor, Sheikh Imran moved Non-Confidence motion against Mattu on 11th of this month. The floor test was conducted at Banquet Hall here at 11am this morning and the Special Session was presided over by the incumbent Deputy Mayor, Syed Parvaiz Bukhari.
Sheikh Imran was toppled in December last when around 44 councilors moved a no confidence motion against him;
Of the total 70, 42 Municipal Corporators from Srinagar voted against Mattu while 28 including 17 from Congress abstained. Mattu had survived similar move in the past by securing 40 votes. Congress had issued a whip asking its Corporators from Srinagar to abstain from voting against Mattu.
However four of the eleven NC Corporators voted against the outgoing Srinagar Mayor. All the four were later expelled from the party, a National Conference spokesman said.
“The vote of ‘No Confidence Motion’ against me, and the @JKPC_(Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference) has been passed in the SMC with 42 votes out of 70. The @BJP4India, @JKNC_ (Jammu and Kashmir National Conference) and some independents have polled against the @JKPC_ and @INCIndia abstaining whip where 28 Corporators abstained,” Mattu said in a series of tweets.
“I respect the verdict of the Corporation,” he said.
Mattu, who has survived a no-confidence motion in the past, claimed the BJP and the National Conference (NC) have joined hands in Srinagar.
“The seemingly unthinkable seems to have happened as @JKNC_ and @BJP4India have come together in Srinagar. But more on that later,” he said.
“Time to spend some time with my family after nearly four months of our war against #COVID19,” he added.
Mattu said he is taking the verdict with humility and his chin up.
“For those who know me – they would know that I take this verdict with humility and my chin up! I am committed to serving the people of Srinagar to the best of my abilities now and also in the future,” he said.
Over the past few days, a series of meetings were held at the residence of another controversial corporator and Mattu’s party colleague Sheikh Imran.
While Imran, who was removed as Deputy Mayor last December, has been laying low ahead of Tuesday’s vote, he is believed to be the key player in removing Mattu from the mayor’s post.
The Congress, which has 17 corporators, had issued a whip asking its members not to take part in the no-confidence proceedings.
Meanwhile, National Conference on Tuesday expelled four corporators from the party for voting in a no-confidence motion which resulted in the removal of Junaid Azim Mattu as Mayor of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation.
“Ghulam Nabi Sufi, Danish Bhat, Neelofar and Majid Shulloo have been expelled after they defied the party whip to abstain from the voting on the no-confidence motion,” NC spokesman Imran Nabi Dar said in a statement.
“They have been expelled from the basic membership of the party for violating the whip,” he said.
