India News | Aldermen's Oath-taking: AAP, BJP Councillors Come to Blows, Hurl Chairs in MCD House
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The first meeting of the MCD House witnessed newly-elected AAP and BJP councillors exchanging blows, hurling chairs, climbing atop tables and indulging in continuous sloganeering to overpower the other side.
New Delhi, Jan 6 (PTI) The first meeting of the MCD House witnessed newly-elected AAP and BJP councillors exchanging blows, hurling chairs, climbing atop tables and indulging in continuous sloganeering to overpower the other side.
The meeting was called to elect the mayor, deputy mayor and the members of standing committees. The election was supposed to be followed by the oath-taking ceremony of the newly-elected councillors.
However, due to the ruckus, BJP Councillor Satya Sharma, the presiding officer, who was overseeing the proceeding, had to adjourn the House for the day.
The Friday proceeding began around 11.30 am with Sharma taking oath administered by Santosh Kumar Rai, District Magistrate, New Delhi.
As Sharma called Alderman Manoj for oath-taking, the House descended into chaos as the AAP councillors entered the well opposing the officer's decision. Only four Aldermans, nominated by Lieutenant General Vinai Kumar Saxena, were able to take their oaths.
The AAP members protested against the administration of oaths to the alderman instead of the elected representatives first. AAP councillors shouted slogans and tried to disrupt the proceedings. They also raised slogans like, "BJP ki gundagardi nahi chalegi".
This prompted BJP councillors to enter the well which further escalated the scuffle.
The Kejriwal-led party members got into heated arguments with their BJP counterparts, who retaliated by raising slogans against the AAP and its national convener.
Amid the chaos, both sides alleged manhandling by the other camp and both sides tried to outdo each other by raising slogans at the top of their lungs.
As the crowd around the Speaker's desk surged, the presiding officer adjourned the House for an hour. However, the councillors continued the scuffle by pushing and shoving each other.
Climbing atop tables, the councillors also threw papers in the air. A couple of times, they also hit each other which led to an escalation.
The presiding officer tried to resume the House after an hour-long hiatus. However, despite her warnings, the councillors did not settle and continued with their demonstration.
Finally, Sharma adjourned the House.
It was the first time in the history of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi that the House was adjourned before the election of the mayor and the oath-taking of the councillors.
Both parties claimed that their councillors suffered injuries in the brawl.
The protest also spilled outside the House after the AAP and BJP workers and councillors demonstrated outside the Civic Centre building, the MCD headquarters.
AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj claimed that nominated members (aldermen) never cast their votes in the MCD House.
"Neither in the mayor election nor in the deputy mayor election. They are not allowed to cast votes for standing committee members. The BJP is trying to increase the number of its votes by wrong means," he alleged.
Condemning the AAP for creating a ruckus, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari told reporters, "Why are they scared to face the elections? It again proves that they have no faith in established rules and norms."
A heavy police force was also deployed at the headquarters for the meeting.
The MCD House comprises 250 elected councillors. The BJP's seven Lok Sabha MPs from Delhi and 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.
The AAP has a clear majority in the 250-member House.
Some BJP leaders, however, 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 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.
The Congress has nine votes for its nine councillors while there are also two Independents.
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.
There are 18 members in the standing committee, of which 12 are elected from the zones and six from the House.
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)