New Delhi, Feb 7 (PTI) The AAP staged a protest near the BJP headquarters here on Tuesday, a day after the presiding officer of the Delhi MCD House announced that members nominated by the LG will be allowed to vote in the mayoral election.

Carrying placards, several AAP leaders and workers gathered at Rouse Avenue road and raised slogans against the Bharatiya Janata Party.

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Accusing the MCD Presiding Officer for Contempt of Court, AAP national spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj alleged that the officer "wilfully lied" in the House by claiming to have a High Court order regarding voting in the elections.

"Manish Sisodia tweeted yesterday morning that the BJP would not let the mayor's election be held again, and the same happened. Everything was predetermined because despite there being a fight for every vote, BJP MPs were not present in the House," Bhardwaj alleged.

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He further alleged that the Central government "illegally occupied" the MCD for the last one year and that the BJP has been trying to run the civic body forcibly.

"The Supreme Court will be our final resort in this case, they are now our only hope. First the Central government illegally occupied the civic body for one year and now the BJP has been trying to run the MCD forcibly," he alleged.

Security around the BJP headquarters was beefed up with heavy police deployment in the area and multiple barricades erected at the Rouse Avenue road.

Senior AAP leader Durgesh Pathak alleged that the BJP has been trying to avoid the mayoral election as the AAP has higher voting strength in the House.

"We have a higher vote count than BJP, which is why they are trying to avoid the election. The MCD budget is Rs 16,000 crores per year, multiply that by 15 years to determine the extent of BJP's corruption," he said.

Pathak said the AAP is ready to face "lathicharges and water cannons" but their "fight" against the BJP will continue.

"First, the BJP caused a commotion in the MCD House by calling for all aldermen to cast vote in the election. Aldermen have never cast vote in the House prior to this. The presiding officer lied in the House and this is nothing but contempt of court," he alleged.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) House failed to elect a mayor for a third time in a month on Monday after a ruckus erupted over the nominated members being allowed to vote in the election to the post.

The first two sessions of the MCD House - held on January 6 and January 24 - were adjourned by the presiding officer following a ruckus and acrimonious exchanges between the members of the BJP and the AAP.

The Kejriwal-led party said it would move the Supreme Court so that the mayoral polls can be held in a "court-monitored manner".

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.

(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)