New Delhi: In a late night order, Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on Thursday asked the municipal commissioner to conduct the election to the last vacant seat of the MCD standing committee on Friday. This comes following drama throughout the day with Mayor Shelly Oberoi adjourning the polls until October 5 and Saxena overturning her decision later.
Municipal Commissioner Ashwani Kumar issued an order late at night, saying the lieutenant governor had directed to hold the election of the standing committee member at 1 pm on Friday.
According to the order, Additional Municipal Commissioner Jitender Yadav was appointed as a presiding officer of the MCD House meeting to conduct polls for the committee's sixth seat that fell vacant after BJP leader Kamaljeet Sehrawat was elected as the West Delhi MP.
Following this, Former Delhi Deputy CM and AAP leader Manish Sisodia alleged that the BJP was trying to kill democracy in the Delhi Municipal Corporation by forcing a standing committee member election to take place late in the night, despite adjournment of the House meeting of the civic body.
He said, "Tonight, on the orders of PM Narendra Modi, BJP is killing democracy in the Delhi Municipal Corporation. The election of the standing committee member was to be held in the Delhi Municipal Corporation today. Mayor Shelly Oberoi tried to conduct the election for the Standing Committee but there was uproar in the House and it had to be adjourned. The Mayor adjourned the House till 5 October and decided that now the meeting would be held again on 5 October for the election of the Standing Committee."
Following disruption over frisking of the councillors, the election to the MCD Standing Committee was postponed with the meeting of the House being adjourned till October 5 earlier in the day. In late evening, Saxena, however, overturned the postponement of the elections and directed MCD Commissioner Ashwani Kumar to submit a report by 10 pm.
Saxena instructed to make the deputy mayor the presiding officer for the elections if the mayor refuses to hold the elections. In case, the deputy mayor also refuses, the senior most member of the House will preside over the elections, he ordered.
Till 11 pm, there was uncertainty over the elections and in the last moment, the MCD officials announced the elections were postponed again. In a late-night order, the LG, however, directed the municipal commissioner to hold the election at 1 pm on Friday.
The BJP has asked the MCD commissioner to hold the elections as per law and directions of the Supreme Court, Delhi unit president of the party Virendra Sachdeva said in a statement earlier in the day. "The anti-incumbency against Arvind Kejriwal is at its peak and the AAP is running away from the election as he is scared his own councillors are going to desert him," Sachdeva charged.
He said the BJP will file a contempt petition against the mayor in the court on Friday. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) House proceeding for election to the lone standing committee seat was adjourned briefly amid uproar over frisking of councillors to check if anybody was carrying mobile phones.
As soon as Mayor Shelly Oberoi entered the House, she raised concern over the security check of councillors, claiming it was the first time this was happening. It was undemocratic and insulting for the members of the House, she said.
"The way public frisking is happening is undemocratic and insulting for the councillors. I am adjourning the House for 15 minutes and order the MCD commissioner to ensure the entry of councillors without any checking," Oberoi said and adjourned the House.
The mayor said she wanted the elections to happen but the atmosphere was disrupted due to the frisking. "This will be remembered in history. The way officers were pressurised and they did not comply with my orders. I am adjourning the House till October 5, 2 pm," she said later and left the House.
The BJP councillors started raising slogans "Mayor hosh me aao" and "Standing Committee ka election karwao". Earlier, Commissioner Ashwani Kumar was heard requesting everyone on the microphone to follow rules and not bring mobile phones to the House.
The civic body had also passed an order prohibiting mobile phones in the House. Before the House commenced, the BJP and AAP councillors raised objections to this order and protested outside the mayor's office.
The election is to be held to fill the sole vacancy in the 18-member Standing Committee, the MCD's highest decision-making body. This vacancy was created after BJP councillor Kamaljeet Sehrawat resigned following her election to the Lok Sabha from the West Delhi parliamentary seat earlier this year.
