LAHORE, June 6: Data Town Nazim Khwaja Ahmad Hassaan has described the fresh no-trust motion against him within a week of the acceptance of his appeal against the first by the Supreme Court as sheer political victimization.
Addressing a press conference at the town office here on Sunday evening, Hassaan said he was being pressed to join the ruling political party like some other town municipal administrators.
He said he had not joined the ruling political party because the local government elections had been held on a non-party basis, and he and his companions had contested the same from the Democratic Group platform and were sticking to it.
He said the fresh motion had been brought against him within a week of the announcement of the Supreme Court judgment on his appeal whereas it had been clearly laid in Section 63 (8) of the Punjab Local Government Ordinance that second motion could not be brought within a year of the defeat of the first subject to all legal exceptions.
The Nazim further pointed out that the no-trust motion could not be moved without 'believable grounds' under the Punjab Local Government Ordinance 2001. Such motions could be moved and carried by simple majority only under the Punjab Local Government Ordinance 1979. Only recall motions could be moved under the PLGO 2001.
He said PLGO 2001 did not give the members unbridled powers to bring recall motions against the Nazims on frivolous grounds as had been done in the fresh recall motion against him.
He said the allegations levelled against him in the no-confidence motion were baseless because all decisions in the town were taken by different committees and endorsed by him.
He said the allegations of failure to execute development schemes levelled against him in the no-confidence motion were frivolous because 434 development schemes had been completed and work was in progress on another 50 out of 517 approved in the annual development programme. The town had thus executed 90 per cent of the schemes.
Referring to the criticism on the joint ventures started by the town with the union councils, he said 27 of 33 UCs in the town were participating in the scheme, proving its success.
He said increase of town budget from Rs110 million to Rs310 million during the past three years was a proof of good governance and proper financial management. The World Bank had declared the Data Ganj Bakhsh Town exemplary among other towns in the country on account of its performance.