MCD House adjourned amid ruckus as BJP seeks mayoral polls, questions AAP majority

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) House was adjourned amid a ruckus on Saturday as BJP members opposed the adoption of several resolutions claiming that the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lacked the required numbers for their passage.

Carrying placards and raising slogans, the BJP members stormed the Well of the House and also sought the long-pending mayoral polls, saying their outcome will show that AAP has lost the majority in the 250-member House.

Responding to it, AAP said the BJP should have asked for a division of votes if it was sure about the ruling party having lost the majority. In a statement, AAP claimed that all resolutions were passed “unanimously” by the House.

The mayoral polls were postponed on April 26 after Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena refused to appoint a Presiding Officer for it in the “absence of inputs” from the then Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was lodged in Tihar Jail in a case linked to the now-withdrawn 2021-22 Delhi excise policy.

The accusation that AAP has lost majority in the House stems from the fact that 10 of the ruling party councillors have defected to the BJP since the December 2022 MCD elections, in which AAP had won 134 seats and the BJP 104.

The Leader of the Opposition in the House, Raja Iqbal Singh, termed the resolutions passed in the House “invalid”, claiming that his party’s councillors outnumbered AAP members at the time of voting. He said his party members had sought re-voting but Mayor Shelly Oberoi “overlooked” their demand.

“AAP did not have required numbers to get the resolutions passed,” he said, adding that several of his party members had sought re-voting, a demand that was “overlooked” by Mayor Shelly Oberoi, who declared the resolutions passed.

Earlier, the House proceedings started with Mayor Shelly Oberoi reading out a statement over the Supreme Court’s decision to put on hold the election of the chairperson of the MCD Standing Committee.

The ruling AAP had approached the apex court against the September 27 election to fill the lone vacant seat in the crucial civic body panel, which is the MCD’s main decision-making arm having executive powers to grant approval to projects worth over ₹5 crore.

The Supreme Court had objected to the manner in which the L-G had called the election by using his use of his executive powers after the House was adjourned till October 5 by the Mayor.

Earlier, the ruling party had boycotted the election amid defections in its ranks, giving a walkover to the BJP, which now controls the panel with 10 members against AAP’s eight.

Commenting over it, the Mayor said the election was called in a haste despite the fact that the House was adjourned till October 5.

“After the matter was brought to the notice of the Supreme Court, it took cognisance of the issue and ordered that the [MCD chairperson’s] election won’t be held until the next hearing,” she added.

Published - October 06, 2024 01:19 am IST