SRINAGAR: As the sword of a no-confidence motion is hanging over Srinagar Mayor Junaid Mattu, the fight is turning between BJP versus BJP in the Valley. Srinagar Mayor Junaid Mattu will be facing the 4th no-confidence vote since being elected as Mayor with BJP support in 2018 if no-confidence motion is moved against him. He has won twice and once lost the no-confidence motion only to make a comeback again with the support of the BJP. However, now BJP corporators are not “happy with his way of functioning” and announced withdrawing support to Mattu.
A group of BJP corporators led by Nazir Gilkar addressed a press conference at the party office at Jawahar Nagar, Srinagar on Monday to announce the withdrawal of support to Mayor Mattu. They pledged to support an independent group to vote out Mattu.
Accusing Mattu of resorting to corruption and malpractices, Gilkar alleged that he had misused macadamisation funds worth crores and spent them in two constituencies Zadibal and Hazratbal in Srinagar. Mattu quit the National Conference in 2018 to contest the Srinagar Municipal Corporation polls and joined the Peoples Conference of Sajjad Lone. Mattu quit Peoples Conference in September 2020 and joined Apni Party of influential businessman and former PDP leader Altaf Bukhari.
The BJP corporators press conference against Mattu party caught the saffron party off guard
and left it red-faced as Mattu was elected as Mayor of Srinagar on the party's support. BJP Kashmir spokesman Altaf Thakur disowned the party corporators’ press conference. Thakur said whatever they said, it may be their personal opinion but not the party’s stand.