Days after backlash over Gurugram mayor appointing husband as adviser to civic body, govt sacks him

Former BJP district president Tilak Raj Malhotra insisted that role of adviser to his wife Raj Rani Malhotra, mayor of Gurugram, was ‘voluntary’.

A file photo of Mayor Raj Rani Malhotra and her husband, Tilak Raj Malhotra. | @rajranimalhotra/ Instagram

Gurugram: Eight days after the controversial decision, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has withdrawn the appointment of Tilak Raj Malhotra as adviser to his wife, Mayor Raj Rani Malhotra. According to an official order issued on 29 April, MCG Commissioner Ashok Kumar Garg revoked the earlier appointment with immediate effect.

This was preceded by a government directive earlier the same day.

The original appointment, formalised through a letter dated 21 April, had sparked political backlash with opposition leaders saying the move would undermine the authority of a woman holding public office and contradicted BJP’s public stance against dynastic politics.

Congress leader Pearl Choudhary had been particularly vocal in her criticism, calling the appointment a “mockery of the Constitution’s spirit and the purpose of women’s reservation”. She had questioned the legal basis for such an appointment and argued that it sent a problematic message about women’s leadership in India’s Millennium City.

The controversy drew comparisons to issues in rural Haryana, where male family members at times act as proxies for elected women representatives—a practice authorities have previously deemed unlawful.

Tilak Raj Malhotra, a former BJP district president who defended his appointment as a “voluntary role” with “no financial benefits,” had claimed his position would support the mayor’s vision to improve cleanliness and infrastructure without interfering with her independent duties.

This latest development adds to the ongoing scrutiny of Mayor Raj Rani Malhotra’s tenure, which is already under examination by the Punjab and Haryana High Court over allegations regarding a fraudulent caste certificate.

The order withdrawing the appointment has been forwarded to relevant government officials, including the commissioner and secretary to the government of Haryana, urban local bodies department, the director general of urban local bodies in Haryana, as well as to the mayor and all department heads within the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram.

(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)