“Yes, I am a thief… I am a thief if I throw mud at a children’s kabaddi event in Dhanas,” said Chandigarh Mayor Kuldeep Kumar.
Mayor Kuldeep Kumar has been accused of alleged “mining” by the BJP, which on Thursday protested by writing “thieves” on its nameplate.
Mayor Kumar said that he is looking into the possibility of filing a defamation case after discussing with the party members.
“The people of Dhanas approached me to organize a kabaddi program for children. They asked me to clear the area and spread some mud so that the children don’t get hurt. Accordingly, I directed the concerned SDO and JE to handle it,” Mayor Kumar told The Indian Express.
He added, ‘I did not know that the concerned engineer thought that soil can be taken from the nearby river to facilitate the work. Can it be called a mine?”
Asking the officer for an explanation, he repeated, ‘But how can it be called a mine? Did we use the soil for our personal benefit or did we bring it home to sell?”
On Thursday, BJP councilors staged a protest outside the Chandigarh Municipal Mayor’s office and wrote “thief” on his name plate.
Responding to this, the mayor said, “When these BJP councilors can misbehave with a senior officer of the house and take away the agenda from him, anything can be expected from them.”
Speaking about the “thief” comment, Kumar said, “I will discuss with my party members whether to file a defamation case. One can guess their mentality by writing such words to the first citizen of the city. At least they should respect the chair.”
Asked about possible action against the BJP councillors, the Mayor said, “I wrote to the Governor to cancel the candidature of the nominated councillors, but nothing happened. The nominated councilors were also with the BJP members in this protest.”
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