A controversial Indian-born suburban Melbourne mayor has been hit with a no-confidence vote from his colleagues and a third protest by residents furious that he wrote a character reference for a paedophile.
Wyndham mayor Preet Singh temporarily stepped down from his role after the character reference was revealed on March 30, but resisted calls to resign and has now resumed his mayoral duties after posting a defiant statement on social media on Thursday.
The statement sparked a protest at a park in Truganina on Sunday attended by more than 100 people who chanted “we want Preet Singh to resign”, and wore T-shirts saying “do the right thing, resign”.
Then on Monday evening Wyndham City councillors unanimously moved a motion of no-confidence against Mr Singh, but the vote does not allow them to remove him as mayor.
Councillor Peter Maynard said all of the councillors had been working together to try to convince Mr Singh to resign, calling the reference letter an “extremely concerning error of judgment” that could not be tolerated.
“He may have done nothing illegal, but it’s morally reprehensible,” Mr Maynard told the Herald Sun.
“It is frustrating that as a council, our hands are tied in these circumstances. The legislation provides very limited options to remove a mayor elected for one year, and none of them apply to this example.
“All we can do by passing this motion is put the council’s formal record our strong desire to elect a better leader for our council and our community.”
Mr Singh, who declared a conflict of interest and left the meeting before the motion was moved, said in his statement: “I have done nothing illegal, criminal, or unlawful. I do not, and will never, condone or support child sexual abuse. At no point did I suggest that what occurred was acceptable.”
“I have accepted accountability for my error of judgement, and I have apologised sincerely and unreservedly to the victim and their family for the impact my actions had on them. That apology stands.
“This reference letter was provided when I was a private citizen and is not connected in any way to the Office of the Mayor or Councillor.”
He also said he would not allow himself to be “bullied into resigning” and doing so would “wrongly legitimise allegations that are false [and] unfounded”.
Mr Singh wrote the reference for friend Kashyap Patel, who pleaded guilty to child sex offences in 2024, as did newly preselected Liberal candidate Dinesh Gourisetty, who then withdrew his candidacy.
Patel, then 40, was jailed for just nine months by County Court Judge Peter Rozen for grooming and sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl.
“Mr Patel is very upset about the charges and I truly believe he is extremely regretful for what he has done,” Mr Singh wrote in his reference letter, which said they had been friends for 13 years.
“Even though he has been charged, I would continue to trust Mr Kashyap Patel. He has always shown high integrity and is someone I could trust … I believe any behaviour he displayed that caused him to be charged with child grooming and sexual assault was a one-off event.”
Header image: Left, Preet Singh (Facebook). Right, the Sunday protest (WyndhamTV).
