'Indirect mayoral polls will derail democratic process'

ALLAHABAD: The corporators and former corporators staged a protest outside the Allahabad Municipal Corporation on Tuesday against the passing of the bill which has paved way for the indirect election of mayor. The protesters tied black bands on the head and shoulders to express their resentment.
They flayed the state government for failing to table the bill on the floor of house and passing it without discussion.
The corporators and former corporators raised slogans against the Mayawati government urging her to give the democratic rights back to the citizens to choose their mayor. They said indirect election of mayors would derail the democratic process.
The corporators said they would hold public meetings in the city to create awareness among the people on the issue.
The corporators who took part in the protest included Shiv Sewak Singh, Kamlesh Singh, Anand Ghildiyal, Uttam Kumar, Kusum Lata Gupta, Shiva Tripathi, Mahivir Yadav, Ramesh Yadav, Anand Sonkar, Umesh Dwivedi, Girdhar Singh, Mohd Muslim, Mohd Habeeb-ur-Rehman and former corporators Prahlad Chandra Gupta and Nizamduddin.
Mayor Jitendra Nath Singh too has expressed reservation on the passing of bill favouring indirect election of the mayor. He said an indirectly elected mayor would not care for the welfare of the people and even affect the development of the city.
He said the new provisions provide for a tenure of six years for mayor and no-confidence can be passed against a mayor only after five years. Presently, the term of mayor is of five years and a no-confidence motion can be introduced after two years.