EC to issue show cause notices to 3 BMC councillors

Mumbai, May 22 (UNI) The Election Commissioner and the election department of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will issue show cause notices next month to 3 out 5 newly-elected corporators for providing fake caste certificates before the recently-concluded civic elections.

The show cause notices will be sent to Sheikh Mohammed Hussain of the SP (ward no 91 Bandra), Independent candidate and Sena rebel Narayan Pawar (ward no 150) and Rashmi Pahudkar of the Shiv Sena (ward no 114). The notices will be issued after June 5. Of the five, Mohammed Haroon Yousuf Khan and Manmohan Chonkar have obtained a stay from the High Court.

The councillors had submitted false certificates and two of them have obtained a stay from the High Court.

This year, the BMC received complaints that 74 councillors had submitted false certificates. Of the total, there are serious allegations against 26 councillors, while the remaining 48 are also alleged to have submitted false certificates.

Deputy election officer V T Dhere said ''The councillors who have submitted a fake caste certificate will be sent a show cause notice after the period of submitting the certificates ends and they will act as councillors till they are proved guilty.'' He said according to law, the candidates are given three months period to submit their caste certificates, but this year they have been given extra time of one month that ends on June 2 and it being a weekend the action will be taken on June 4 or later. The results of the civic body polls were declared on February 2.

The process of punishing the candidates seems to be distant because the accused will be sent show cause notices, after which they will answer the notices and then if the Election Commission decides against the answer, a case will be registered in the court and the law will take its course, Mr Dhere added.

UNI