New Delhi : Ahead of the oath-taking ceremony of newly elected councilors at Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) civic centre, BJP and AAP councilors came to blows with each other over the appointment of 10 aldermen by Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, leading to adjournment of the House.
The meeting of the newly elected MCD House was adjourned without electing the mayor and the deputy mayor. BJP councillor Satya Sharma, the presiding officer who was overseeing the process, said that the next date will be announced later.
Chaos began when AAP councillors and MLAs raised slogans and entered the Well when Sharma began the process of administering oaths to the 10 aldermen. The AAP members were protesting against administering oaths to the alderman, and not the elected representatives, first.
It all began when Sharma invited alderman Manoj Kumar to take oath. AAP MLAs and councillors began to protest and rushed to the Well of the House and raised slogans. Meanwhile, AAP councillors stood on the tables and disrupted the meeting.
BJP members, too, raised slogans against AAP and its convenor and Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal.
For the position of mayor in the MCD, the AAP had nominated Shelly Oberoi and BJP had nominated Rekha Gupta. Following the chaos, Gupta alleged that some AAO councillors had come to the House drunk.
“AAP fears losing. Climbing on the table of the presiding officer, breaking mics and throwing chairs – the culture they are developing is condemnable. Some of them (AAP councillors) had come to the MCD house after consuming liquor, she said as quoted
Minister of State MeenakshiLekhi alleged that it was a “conspiracy” by AAP not to allow smooth functioning of the House.
“Section 33B(1) of the Municipal Corporation Act has been brought into action. Delhi LG VK Saxena has exercised his power & nominated people &Chairperson to the house. There was a conspiracy that AAP will not allow smooth functioning and thus they created ruckus,” Lekhi said.
“We are within the purview of law as the Act is a central enactment ¬ state law. The Chairperson’s decision was right because had the order been reversed that nominated councillors had been asked to take oath later, these people would not have let that happen,” she added.
Meanwhile, BJP MP ParveshVerma alleged that two BJP councillors were manhandled by AAP members.
“Two of our councillors – Anita and InderKaur were surrounded by AAP’s male councillors. Five of them jostled around InderKaur. With a sharp object, they struck her and she suffered a cut. When Anita came to her rescue, she also suffered a cut,” Verma said.
Unconstitutional’, says Delhi CM Kejriwal: Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal said that it was “unconstitutional” to let nominated councillors vote in the mayoral elections, saying that Article 243 R of the Constitution debars nominated members from voting in the House.
“Article 243R of the Constitution clearly debars nominated members from voting in the House. Attempting to get them to vote in the House is unconstitutional,” he wrote in a tweet.
In the elections to the 250-member MCD House that took place on December 4, the AAP won with 134 seats, ousting the BJP which was ruling the civic body for 15 years, and bagged 104 seats this election.
