What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
Following the high-voltage drama on the very first day of the meeting of the newly elected Municipal Corporation of Delhi House, Bharadwaj speaks to The New Indian’s Special Correspondent Alok Singh about what exactly happened.
Mayoral elections were stalled after blows were exchanged between members of Aam Aadmi Party and Bharatiya Janata Party in MCD house on Friday injuring several councillors. Amid confusion over when the House will convene again, BJP and AAP continued to accuse each other of manipulation and cheating.
Following the high-voltage drama on the very first day of the meeting of the newly elected Municipal Corporation of Delhi House, Bharadwaj speaks to The New Indian’s Special Correspondent Alok Singh about what exactly happened.
AAP national spokesperson & Greater Kailash MLA @Saurabh_MLAgk blames BJP for creating ruckus inside the MCD House and following unconstitutional means to allow nominated members to vote.
Reports @AlokSingh with video journalist @amitrawat31120 pic.twitter.com/VpCQLIxZAC
— The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) January 6, 2023
AAP MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj hinted that the ruckus in the MCD house was triggered by a message from Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena to the secretariat asking for voting by nominated members, or aldermen, who were sworn-in by the temporary Speaker.
Excerpts from the interview
What exactly happened in the MCD House today?
Bharatiya Janata Party wanted to cheat and manipulate the whole House to form their government in the MCD. They don’t want to follow the law of the land. It is in the Constitution. As per Article 243, nominated members in a corporation cannot vote in the house. They can only vote in the Ward Committee. Today, they were forcing them to vote which is wrong. It is against the DMC Act. It is against the constitution.
But what caused the ruckus?
Because nominated councillors cannot vote. So once, the Mayor is elected and the Standing committee is elected, only then they can be put to oath. Asking nominated members to take oath, means BJP wanted them to vote. There was a message from the LG’s office to the secretariat here that they will vote.
When will the whole process of appointment of Mayor, deputy mayor and standing committee happen now?
There is a lot of manipulation. Let’s see when the House convenes again.
How many people from your side got injured?
I think 11.
The protests were triggered after Satya Sharma, the temporary Speaker appointed by Saxena, invited the nominated members, or aldermen, of the house to be sworn-in. As soon as an alderman was to take oath, AAP MLAs and councilors rushed to the well of the House shouting slogans. AAP members said that swearing-in nominated members before elected councilors was not appropriate.
The AAP won 134 wards in the MCD polls and ended the BJP’s 15-year rule in the civic body. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 104 wards, while the Congress won nine seats in the 250-member municipal House. The House was scheduled to convene on January 6 for the first time after the 2022 civic polls.
