• Says NC and BJP came together to oust him; Sheikh Imran tipped to take over

Srinagar: Junaid Azim Mattu was on Tuesday voted out as the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) Mayor when a no-confidence motion was passed against him by the majority of SMC corporators.
The no-confidence motion was moved by Waheed Dar, the corporator from Zakura ward, on the 11th of this month. Dar;s motion found support of 41 other corporators.
“We were not satisfied by the way our mayor was doing his work. We all wanted our wards to be developed but we couldn’t do that,” Dar said, adding, “In the past 2 years there were numerous illegal constructions and encroachments throughout the Srinagar municipal area.”
He further said that a meeting will be held on Wednesday in which corporators will choose the new mayor.
As per sources, former deputy mayor Sheikh Imran is likely to be chosen the next mayor of the city.
Mattu himself announced the result of the no-confidence motion on Twitter, saying the motion had been passed with 42 out of 70 corporators voting against him and 28 abstaining from voting.
He alleged that the National Conference (NC) and BJP had come together in Srinagar to vote him out.
“The vote of ‘No Confidence Motion’ against me and the @JKPC has been passed in the SMC with 42 votes out of 70. The @BJP4India, @JKNC and some independents have polled against the @JKPC and @INCIndia abstaining whip where 28 Corporators abstained,” Mattu tweeted.
The former Mayor said that he respects the verdict of the Corporation, saying it is time to spend some time with his family after nearly four months of war against Covid-19.
Mattu said for those who know him, they would know that he take this verdict with humility and with his chin up. “I am committed to serving the people of Srinagar to the best of my abilities now and also in the future,” he said.
He also expressed gratitude to the People’s Conference, especially chairman Sajad Lone, as well as his colleagues in SMC and Congress corporators who voted for him.
“I express gratitude to @JKPC especially our Chairman @sajadlone Sahab as well as my JKPC colleagues in SMC! I also express gratitude to JKPCC @INCIndia President @GAMIR_INC and colleagues from INC who voted for me. I’ll continue to work with you and uphold your trust,” he tweeted.
He said he is looking forward to spending time with his family. “Have missed out on my daughter’s sweet little milestones especially in the last 6 months due to work. I will be writing about this and the unexpected alliance forged in SMC in due time,” he wrote on his Twitter handle.
This was the second no-confidence motion moved against Mattu in less than six months. In December 2019, a no-confidence motion was moved against Mattu which was supported by the BJP.
However, at that time the Mayor successfully got the numbers during the floor test.
Deputy Mayor Sheikh Imran was removed from the post after he lost the floor test with the majority of corporators voting against him.
Later, the National Conference expelled four corporators from the party for voting in a no-confidence motion.
Ghulam Nabi Sufi, Danish Bhat, Neelofar and Majid Shulloo have been expelled after they defied the party whip to abstain from the voting on the no-confidence motion, NC spokesman Imran Nabi Dar said in a statement.
“They have been expelled from the basic membership of the party for violating the whip,” he said.

NAZIMA SIDIQ