Rudrapur: A day after the state government banned former BJP Mayor and fifteen erstwhile councilors of Rudrapur Municipal Corporation (RMC) from contesting civic poll fray over the issue of encroaching nazul land, the aspiring candidatefor the next Mayoral election accused her own party of denying people from their basic right. The outgoing Mayor, Soni Koli, held a presser in the city on Friday and alleged that the decision is an injustice to the poor people of the city.In a decision, recommended by the urban development department, the state government banned Koli from contesting civic poll fray for next five years and four years ban was imposed on 15 former councilors on Thursday. Ever since they were elected in 2013, these 16 elected representatives were facing charges of encroaching government lands and fighting the poll fray with forged documents. On a complaint by Ram Babu, a resident of Bhoot Bangla colony, the commissioner of Kumaon region conducted an inquiry and found the charges right. While the accused were also given chance to present their part before urban development department. However, the department on September 20, banned the former Mayor and 15 councilors from contesting civic polls for five and four years respectively.Talking to media, Koli said that the decision will affect more than one lakh people of Rudrapur who are residing on nazul land. Embarassing her own party, Koli said, "These people have basic right to contest the elections, but after this decision there is no one left to join the upcoming civic poll fray from different wards of Rampura, Bhadayipura, Transit Camp, Khera, Indira colony, Sanjay Nagar, Adarsh Colony and Jagatpura which are the most heavily populated areas of the city".She claimed that the decision is unfair and it has denied major population of the city from its constitutional right. "Where will the people come from to contest civic polls if most of them do not fulfill the mandatory requirement of now owning any nazul land. We will not tolerate any attempts to water down the rights of people and will knock court against the decision", she said.In the meanwhile, former Congress councilor from Awas Vikas colony, Lalit Miglani, who suffers by the decision, also slammed the government over the decision. "The BJP led state government is trying to destroy the city. Earlier it ruined the main market, later three colonies were ordered to be demolished under the name of anti-encroachment drive and now it is depriving people from their right by this unjust decision. When an entire colony is situated on nazul land, where will the representatives come from?", he questioned.

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