New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said Article 243R of the Constitution bars nominated members from voting in the MCD House and the attempt to make them do so is unconstitutional. His remarks came hours after the MCD House was adjourned to administer oath to 10 aldermen ‘nominated members’, in what the Aam Aadmi Party described as a covert move to vote for the election of mayor and deputy mayor. at home. Kejriwal also wrote a letter to Lieutenant Governor (LG) VK Saxena, mentioning several other incidents which according to him were attempts to circumvent MCD rules. Nomination of 10 aldermen in the MCD, fixing the names of the Haj committee allegedly bypassing the Delhi government, and not nominating the senior-most person as the presiding officer were some of the examples he cited in the letter.
“Administration officials must have refused to comply with the bizarre instructions of the LG. They are protesting privately and in a muted voice.” “They are afraid of consequences for not following instructions. Some have even faced wrath in the past. Bureaucratic control through ‘services’ is being misused,” he wrote.
Earlier in the day, the house was adjourned without electing the mayor and deputy mayor as BJP and AAP councilors engaged in a heated argument over swearing in the alderman first and not the elected representatives. AAP has alleged that the BJP first administered the oath to the alderman to give them the right to vote for the election of mayor and deputy mayor.
Article 243R of the Constitution explicitly bars nominated members from voting in the House. Trying to get them votes in the House is unconstitutional. pic.twitter.com/AgxPOUdCYT— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) January 6, 2023
BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapur denied the allegations, saying, “Nobody was trying to vote aldermen into the House, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be sworn in. After all, aldermen are in zone committees.” Can vote. Arvind Kejriwal provoked his councilors to create ruckus in the house.
Senior AAP leader Atishi said they will file a complaint against the BJP for allegedly attacking the AAP councillors. Atishi said, “The injured councilors are being taken to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital for treatment. This is unconstitutional and we demanded the secretary to adjourn the proceedings of the House. To please the BJP, the Lt Governor should not break the rules.” should.”
My letter to Hon’ble LG
Please let the elected government fulfill the dreams of 2 crore people. Let’s respect the constitution. Let’s strengthen democracy. pic.twitter.com/UIHxmoPI6Q— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) January 6, 2023
AAP’s national spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj also said that his party would file an FIR for the alleged attacks on its councillors.
He said, “Even after so many efforts, not a single AAP councilor has changed sides. That’s why BJP was getting 10 nominated councilors to vote wrongly. They (BJP) are also able to say that tomorrow PM and Home Minister will also vote. Mayor election,” Bhardwaj said.
First meeting of newly elected MCD House adjourned without electing mayor and deputy mayor, swearing in first 10 aldermen amid vehement protests from AAP councillors.
The next date will be announced later, BJP councilor Satya Sharma, the presiding officer overseeing the process, said earlier.
AAP leader Dilip Pandey alleged that the BJP was “destroying” the country’s constitution and democracy by “controlling” the corporation through “hooliganism”.
The senior AAP leader said, “In the Delhi MCD, the BJP has tried and failed every dirty trick, from delimitation and delay in elections to using the office of their friendly uncle to inflate numbers. Their last resort is hooliganism, Which you can now see on your TV screen. Raghav Chadha made allegations
Both BJP and AAP have claimed that their councilors were injured in the clash between them inside the MCD house.