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Councillors divided over Ram Babu Sharma's role

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 12. His opponents term it as undue interference in day-to-day functioning of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi while his supporters claim they are taking benefit of his "experience" in improving the functioning of the civic body.

Whatever it may be, the Leader of the House in the MCD and the Standing Committee Chairman till December last - the period during which he ruled the civic body single-handedly -- Ram Babu Sharma, who is now the Congress MLA from Rohtas Nagar in East Delhi, seems to have emerged as a `ring leader' of sorts within the Corporation.

Not only the ruling Congress Councillors seek his advice on almost all matters, but the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party members are also seen co-ordinating with him frequently on strategic issues. Consequently, the floor management between the two parties is also at its best in recent times.

Claiming the support of as many as 90 of the nearly 100 Congress Councillors and having friendly relations with the BJP leadership in the MCD, it is Mr. Sharma, observers said, who was basically instrumental in the Corporation recently taking the Delhi Chief Minister "head on''.

Even the Leader of House, Satbir Singh, and the Standing Committee Chairman, Mukesh Goel, concede that they have been consulting their predecessor on issues related to the MCD. "Mr. Sharma is our leader. He has vast experience and has a vision for the city. We seek his blessings and advice on issues relating to the betterment of the Capital," Mr. Goel argued.

However, his opponents allege that Mr. Sharma who is from the Congress faction opposed to Sheila Dikshit, was taking advantage of a "weak" party leadership in the MCD for settling scores with the Chief Minister. "He is trying to run the civic body through remote control," a senior Congress Councillor from East Delhi alleged. "Mr. Sharma's day to day interference in the MCD would only harm Delhiites in the long run as this would hamper co-ordination between the civic body and Delhi Government," he alleged. "Before every crucial meeting, both Mr. Goel and Mr. Singh meet him where they discuss the items on the agenda," he alleged.

While Mr. Sharma is now on a private trip to Mumbai and Ahmedabad, his opponents alleged that he had gone with the Councillors on a "study tour''. The Leader of House, Satbir Singh, went along him in the same flight to Mumbai on Saturday while the remaining councillors had left the city a day earlier. "He still seems to be in love with the MCD," another Congress Councillor -- probably upset because he was not taken on the study tour -- alleged.

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