India News | AAP Rails Against BJP as MCD House Adjourned Without Electing Mayor Again, Says Will Move Court

New Delhi, Feb 6 (PTI) The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday launched an all-out attack on the BJP, accusing it of hatching a conspiracy to stall the mayoral election for a third time by disrupting the MCD House.

The AAP, which fielded several leaders to attack the BJP over the issue, said it will move the Supreme Court to demand a court-monitored poll.

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"The BJP wants to run the MCD forcibly and hence it is resorting to ruckus in the House," Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia told a press conference.

"The BJP resorted to ruckus while the AAP councillors were sitting peacefully. The ruckus created by the BJP shows that the party does not believe in the Constitution, laws and they only believe in hooliganism," he said.

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The deputy chief minister further alleged that the BJP is "running the MCD" with the help of officers and taking "wrong" decisions.

As the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) House assembled around 11:30 am, a delay of half-an-hour, the presiding officer announced that elections to the posts of mayor, deputy mayor and Standing Committee members will be held simultaneously and that aldermen will be allowed to vote.

This drew protests from AAP councillors with party leader Mukesh Goel saying the aldermen can't vote.

AAP MP Sanjay Singh alleged that presiding officer Satya Sharma, appointed by the LG, disregarded all constitutional laws.

"Presiding officer Satya Sharma said that the alderman will have voting rights. Our question is, where has this rule come from? Will the LG define the constitution now?" Singh asked at a press conference.

The presiding officer said the polls will be held simultaneously which is also wrong as the agenda stated that the mayoral elections will be held first, the AAP leader said.

Emerging from the House, AAP leader Atishi told reporters, "We will go to the Supreme Court, and we will go today itself so that the mayoral elections can be held in a court-monitored manner."

"Our demands are that the mayoral election be held in a time-bound manner in the next two weeks and the aldermen be not allowed to vote," she said.

Atishi claimed the BJP had planned to disrupt the proceedings so that the House could be adjourned.

The first two sessions of the municipal House -- held on January 6 and January 24 -- were adjourned by the presiding officer without electing a mayor following a ruckus and acrimonious exchanges between the members of the BJP and the AAP.

According to the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act, 1957, the mayor and the deputy mayor are to be elected in the very first session of the House after the civic polls. However, it's been two months since the municipal elections were held on December 4 and Delhi is yet to get a mayor.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)