NEW DELHI: A commotion ensued in the House meeting of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) held on Friday over the postponement of the mayoral elections scheduled to be held on April 26, with both AAP and BJP councillors raising slogans against each other.
The members of the ruling party called the BJP “Dalit Virodhi” (anti-Dalit) as the post of Mayor for this term was reserved for an SC/ST candidate. They accused the BJP of trying to ensure that a candidate from the reserved category does not become the Mayor of Delhi.
Polls to elect the Mayor and Deputy Mayor were postponed on Thursday due to the non-appointment of the presiding officer for the elections.
In retort, BJP councillors surrounded the Mayor’s seat and raised slogans demanding the presence of Mayor Shelly Oberoi who was running late for the meeting.
The AAP protest initially started near the Ambedkar statue at the MCD headquarters before entering the House meeting. Reaching the House, they continued raising slogans against the opposition BJP, calling them “Dalit Virodhi”.
The sloganeering continued for an hour till Oberoi presided over. After she reached the House, Oberoi accused L-G VK Saxena of “murdering the Constitution” and using the judicial custody of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal as an “excuse”. The Mayor then adjourned the meeting of the Corporation House till the next meeting and left.
Elections for the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor were postponed as no presiding officer could be appointed to conduct the polls. The L-G, who appoints the presiding officer, cited “unprecedented” circumstances where the Chief Minister is under judicial custody and cannot discharge his constitutionally obligated functions. The civic body postponed the mayoral polls after the Raj Niwas issued a letter stating that the appointment of a presiding officer could not be made without inputs from the Chief Minister.