Jaipur: A fresh political tussle has erupted in the Jaipur Municipal Corporation-Greater (JMC-G), close on the heels of internal dissent leading to the deferral of its fourth Executive Committee (EC) meeting scheduled for Oct 9.Deputy mayor Puneet Karnawat Monday launched a direct attack on mayor Somya Gurjar, alleging she deliberately deferred the EC meeting to avoid discussion on a long-pending proposal to rename a stretch of Tonk Road after former chief minister and ex-vice president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.The mayor had earlier said the EC meeting was deferred because “proposals from councillors and members could not be incorporated in time and would be taken up afresh” at a later date.Karnawat dismissed the mayor’s reasoning as a pretense. “Several proposals passed in the third EC meeting held on July 8, 2024, have not yet been implemented”, he alleged. “Proposal no. 7, calling for the renaming of the stretch from Ramniwas Bagh Circle to JMC-G limits on Tonk Road as Bhairon Singh Shekhawat Marg was duly approved but is yet to be executed”, he said.Karnawat went on to allege that the mayor had not forwarded the file to the divisional commissioner (DC) so far. He cited recent road renamings done without the DC’s approval. “The stretch connecting Hotel Marriott to JLN Marg was renamed as Ram Das Agrawal Marg. Likewise, the Khandaka Hospital Road linking Tonk Road to JLN Marg was named Ratan Shastri Marg. Even the mayor has named a park in Mansarovar as Hemu Kalani – a Sindhi freedom fighter. In all these cases, no approval was sought from the DC”, he claimed.“If all this can be done, why is there so much reluctance in honouring Shekhawat?” he asked, before going a step further and questioning the mayor’s political understanding. “How can a mayor elected on a BJP ticket ignore a three-time CM and former vice president? The problem is that she has no sense of BJP’s political legacy when Shekhawat ji was at his peak”, he said.Mayor Gurjar refuted her deputy’s allegations, stating, “All proposals passed in the previous EC meeting have already been sent to the DC and approvals are awaited. However, at the request of the deputy mayor, we have re-added the proposal regarding Shekhawat Marg”. Asked why the naming has been delayed, she said, “This question should be directed at the DC; he will be better able to answer that”.Karnawat cited Section 240 of the Rajasthan Municipal Act, 2009, which gives municipalities full authority over the naming of roads, junctions and public locations. “If the law clearly empowers the corporation, what approval is the mayor waiting for? Naming a road after Shekhawat is a matter of pride, not a procedural burden”, he insisted.Karnawat has formally written to the mayor, requesting that the road be officially renamed on Oct 23, the birth anniversary of Shekhawat.
Mayor and deputy slug it out over pending proposal to rename road after Bhairon Singh Shekhawat | Jaipur News
