Mayoral polls delayed: MCD House adjourned as AAP, BJP trade barbs
Polls for the posts of Mayor, Deputy Mayor were held together with general elections of 2014, 2019, so what changed this time, asks Pathak; AAP scuttled polls by deviating from guidelines, says BJP
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) House was adjourned on Friday without any discussion following a ruckus by councillors of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the BJP over the postponement of the mayoral polls. Members of both parties traded barbs, with AAP councillors once again accusing the BJP of having an “anti-Dalit” mindset and BJP councillors charging the ruling party with supporting corruption.
A day earlier, the AAPruled MCD had postponed the mayoral elections after Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena refused to appoint a presiding ocer for it in “the absence of inputs from the Chief Minister”. The elections were scheduled to be held on Friday following the approval of the Election Commission of India. AAP had termed the L-G’s move “anti-Dalit” as the Mayor’s post was reserved for a Scheduled
Caste candidate this year.
“Elections for the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor were to be held in the MCD House today. But yesterday, the le regarding the elections reached the L-G, bypassing the elected government. Then the L-G said that he did not have the power to appoint the presiding ocer. What kind of politics is this?” said Mayor Shelly Oberoi, addressing a press conference. “Everyone knows that mayoral elections are held at this time of the year and that this year, the
Mayor was to come from a member of the Dalit community. It’s not just us; the common person has also understood the anti-Dalit mentality of the BJP,” she added.
AAP’s MCD in-charge Durgesh Pathak said mayoral polls were held simultaneously with the general election in 2019 and 2014. “So, what changed this time? They are saying that no input was received from the Chief Minister. If you wanted to take an input, you should have sent the le to the Urban Development
Minister. But you didn’t do that,” said Mr. Pathak.
‘Pro-corruption’
Leader of the Opposition in the MCD Raja Iqbal Singh said AAP should replace its CM for the smooth conduct of the mayoral polls. “AAP is a pro-corruption party. They rst win elections by making big promises and then they are seen running away from people. That is why Delhi’s Chief Minister and its [former] Cabinet Ministers are in jail,” Mr. Singh said.
He accused the AAP of scuttling the elections by deviating from the prescribed guidelines under the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, in conduting the poll.
Meanwhile, Delhi Congress’s MCD in-charge, Jitender Kumar Kochar wrote to Mr. Saxena urging him to clear the le related to the mayoral elections immediately as several civic projects had come to a halt over the past year in the absence of various MCD panels.