AAP, BJP clash leads to MCD House adjournment without electing mayor

New Delhi: The first meeting of the newly elected MCD House on Friday was witness to AAP and BJP councillors jostling, exchanging heated words and coming to blows over administering oath to 10 aldermen, leading to adjournment for the day without electing the mayor and the deputy mayor.

Both the BJP and AAP have claimed that their councillors sustained injuries as chairs were thrown and attempts made to snatch the presiding officer's microphone. AAP councillors climbed on the tables, including that of the presiding officer, protesting the decision to first administer oath to the aldermen appointed by the lieutenant governor.

According to Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) officials, it was for the first time in the history of the civic body that a newly elected House failed to elect a mayor and deputy mayor in its maiden meeting.

The AAP leaders and councillors alleged that the decision to administer oath to aldermen before elected councillors was the BJP's "ploy" to get them voting rights. The party had earlier also alleged that the LG appointed BJP men as aldermen instead of experts on civic matters.

"Article 243R of the Constitution clearly debars nominated members from voting in the House. Attempt to get them to vote in the House is unconstitutional," Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted.

In a joint press conference with fellow parliamentarians Meenakshi Lekhi and Manoj Tiwari, West Delhi BJP MP Parvesh Verma said the elected and the nominated have no difference. "The nominated members in MCD are called aldermen. Is it possible an alderman does not have voting rights?" he posed.

A ruckus broke out early in the MCD House meeting after the presiding officer (pro-tem speaker) and BJP councillor Satya Sharma was administered oath.

As Sharma called alderman Manoj Kumar for oath-taking, AAP councillors and MLAs opposed it and went into the well of the House raising slogans against BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The BJP councillors retaliated, raising slogans against the AAP and its national convener Kejriwal. The councillors of both parties were seen pushing and shoving each other.

Amid the din, the House was adjourned for over an hour. The situation remained chaotic even after the House reconvened. It finally led to the adjournment of the House for the day.

"The LG office has been informed about the ruckus in the MCD House by Municipal Secretary Bhagwan Singh and MCD Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti. The oath taken by the four aldermen is valid," Sharma said.

The next date for the MCD House meeting will be declared by the LG office, she said.

According to officials, this may take some days as the entire process for the appointment of a presiding officer will have to be repeated through a fresh notification. The pro-tem speaker was meant only for the first meeting of the MCD House, they said.

In the joint press conference, Verma alleged that two women councillors of the party were surrounded and assaulted by AAP councillors. He claimed that the BJP women councillors also reported that some of the AAP councillors in the House had consumed liquor.

Tiwari claimed that BJP councillor Sharad Kapoor's leg was fractured. Delhi BJP working president Virendra Sachdeva has reached Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital hospital where Kapoor is receiving treatment, he said.

A police complaint will be lodged over the assault on BJP councillors in the MCD House, Sachdeva said.

The AAP leaders too claimed that several of their councillors were injured.

"We will file a complaint against BJP councillors for attacking our councillors. The injured councillors are being taken to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital for treatment," said AAP MLA Atishi.

AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj claimed that nominated members (aldermen) never cast their votes in the MCD House. "Neither in the election of the mayor or the deputy mayor. They are not allowed to cast votes for standing committee members as well. The BJP is trying to increase the number of its votes by wrong means," he alleged.

Slamming the AAP for creating a ruckus in the House, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari told reporters, "Why are they scared of facing elections? It again proves that they have no faith in established rules and norms." 

The MCD House comprises 250 elected councillors. The BJP's seven Lok Sabha MPs from Delhi, the AAP's three Rajya Sabha MPs and 14 MLAs nominated by the Delhi Assembly speaker will also participate in the elections to the posts of mayor and deputy mayor. Six members of the standing committee will also be elected.

The Congress, which has nine councillors, has decided not to take part in the voting.

Even though the AAP has a clear majority in the 250-member House, some BJP leaders claimed that an intense contest could be witnessed for the mayor and deputy mayor posts since the anti-defection law did not apply to the MCD and floor crossing could be possible.

The mayor's election is held through a secret ballot and councillors are free to vote for any candidate.

The AAP ended the BJP's 15-year rule in the MCD, winning 134 wards in the civic polls in December. The BJP managed to win 104 wards. Later, Gajendra Daral, the Independent councillor from Mundka, joined the BJP.

The electoral college for the election of mayor comprises the 250 elected councillors, seven Lok Sabha and three Rajya Sabha MPs from Delhi and 14 MLAs. The Delhi Assembly Speaker has nominated 13 AAP and one BJP member to the House.

The total votes in the mayoral polls are 274. The numbers game favours the AAP, which has 150 votes against the BJP's 113.

Though the Delhi BJP is unlikely to bag the mayor and deputy mayor posts, it will try to win three posts of members of the crucial standing committee, party leaders said. There are 18 members in the standing committee, of which 12 are elected from the zones and six from the House.