Former MLC-turned-co-opted member barred from attending meetings of municipal council

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Babajani Durrani, a political heavyweight in Parbhani, has been barred from attending the upcoming two meetings of the Pathri Municipal Council, with council president Saeed Khan invoking action against him on Wednesday.Durrani, a former MLC and MLA who became a co-opted member of the municipal council as a Congress candidate, has been accused of unruly behaviour. Khan has also served a show-cause notice seeking an explanation from Durrani as to why he should not be permanently suspended.Durrani enjoyed power in the Pathri municipal council for over three decades, but faced defeat in the recent poll for municipal council president at the hands of Shiv Sena. Durrani had fielded his son Janaid for the election, but Sena's Khan won.Since the election, repeated high-voltage dramas have been seen within the municipal council, with Durrani and Khan at loggerheads.Durrani did not respond to calls and messages seeking his comments on the action taken against him.Officials and staffers of the Pathri municipal council observed a strike after the acting CEO of the municipal council was hospitalised due to health issues allegedly due to open conflicts between the Durrani and Khan groups within the municipal council.Durrani was MLA of Pathri from 2004 to 2009 as an NCP candidate, and later had two terms as an MLC with support from Sharad Pawar. After the split in NCP, he sided with Ajit Pawar and returned to the Sharad Pawar faction with an eye on another MLC term. After Pawar snubbed him, he joined Congress.