NEW DELHI: A session of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) House descended into turmoil on Tuesday as councillors from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) engaged in heated confrontations over two key proposals—a house tax waiver and the regularisation of 12,000 contractual municipal workers.
Chaos erupted soon after the session began, with councillors shouting slogans, waving banners, and accusing each other of misconduct.
The disorder intensified when AAP attempted to introduce the proposals, but the deputy commissioner was absent. AAP members insisted that the session continue under the additional commissioner, a move fiercely opposed by BJP councillors. This led to a shouting match, with AAP members chanting slogans such as “Gundaagardi nahin chalegi” and “Jai Bhim,” while BJP councillors countered with “Arvind Kejriwal, Sharm Karo” and “Mayor, Sharm Karo.”
At the heart of the dispute were two proposals with significant financial implications. The house tax waiver scheme would allow homeowners who clear their 2024-25 dues to have all previous unpaid taxes written off. Additionally, properties between 100 and 500 square yards would receive a 50% tax reduction, while properties under 100 square yards would be completely exempt.
The second proposal sought to regularise 12,000 municipal workers who had long been demanding permanent status.
Despite the disruptions, MCD Mayor Mahesh Kumar Khichi later declared in a press conference that both proposals had been passed. He asserted that with over 70 AAP councillors present, the quorum was met, ensuring the session’s legitimacy. Khichi accused the BJP of deliberately creating chaos to disrupt the proceedings, claiming that the session had started on time but was derailed by opposition members.
However, BJP leaders strongly contested the mayor’s claims, arguing that the proposals were not passed through the correct legal process.
Leader of Opposition Raja Iqbal Singh dismissed Khichi’s statement as misleading and insisted that proper procedures were not followed. Later in the evening, Singh wrote to MCD Commissioner Ashwani Kumar, demanding that the session be declared “invalid and abandoned.”
Singh alleged that AAP councillors had manipulated the process by convening the session ten minutes early, rushing through the agenda, and adjourning within minutes. He argued that under the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act, 1952, the presence of the commissioner or an authorized official is mandatory, yet none were in attendance.