Nagpur: Amid the sheer embarrassment the recent incident has brought to NMC Mayor Ninda Jichkar, the parties have now demanded her resignation over the glitch that they alleged, amounts to graft. It may be mentioned that recently Nagpur Today has exposed through a letter that Jichkar had taken her son along on an official US tour, by showing him as private personal secretary. The incident has substantially brought forth the rampant misuse of taxpayers’ money. In addition to it, many abroad tours of Mayor have now come under scanner. The official tours in NMC are fast turning personal tours, informed an insider.
Jichkar had allegedly took her younger son Priyash along on an official tour to San Francisco, California, USA. Priyash’s tour was funded by the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM), as he was described as Jichkar’s private secretary in NMC. It is learnt that Jichkar had informed officiating municipal commissioner Ravindra Thakre about her tour but made no mention of her son travelling as her secretary.
When Nagpur Today contacted Acting NMC Commissioner Ravinder Thakre, he said that being a commissioner he would not have any say into this. “The matter should come up in the House and they would take the call,” Thakre told NT.
Sensing one of the most embarrassing moments BJP city president Sudhakar Kohle and NMC ruling party leader Sandip Joshi have admitted that Mayor had adopted wrong practice by taking her son along as her private secretary.
On the other hand the Opposition parties have appealed to the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to suspend the Mayor and appoint new person in her place.
Talking to Nagpur Today, Ex-Mayor and City Congress President Vikas Thakre reacted that the incident has brought big shame to India and as well as Nagpur on international level. The honor of Nagpur is lost through this incident as the first citizen of the city is caught in such an embarrassing act, he said adding that he knows Mayor Jichkar and her family personally and on moral ground she would be the first to resign before her party asks him to do so.
The parties have also demanded that the officials involved in supporting Mayor to prepare the document should also be brought to the task. Experts claim that the approval of top officials must have been given to get the document of Jichkar’s son ready. However it is also suspected that the Mayor’s office has kept everything under the wraps and got the visa approved. When quizzed if NMC officials have any power to take action into the matter, Ravidra Thakre expressed ignorance saying, “I may not be able to comment anything offhanded. We will have to look into the provisions first.”
Meanwhile, it is learnt that the Mayor had also organised a grand party for NMC’s bigwigs before proceeding to US tour along with her son.
Nagpur Today also tried to contact NMC Ruling Party leader Sandip Joshi for comment but he did not reply to any of our calls.
