AAP boycotted the MCD Standing Committee elections, calling it against democracy

Aam Aadmi Party: There is a huge political uproar over the election of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has announced to boycott this election, which was made public by former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia a short while ago. A member of the Standing Committee of MCD is to be elected, but there has been a tug of war for this since yesterday evening. Now the MCD Commissioner has issued an order to conduct the election today itself, on which Sisodia raised the question and asked how can an officer preside over an elected house.

AAP's election boycott and BJP's reaction

After the announcement of this election boycott by the Aam Aadmi Party, the BJP targeted the AAP and said, "Why is the Aam Aadmi Party running away from the election?" The BJP claims that the AAP is afraid of the democratic process and does not want to face the election. At the same time, the AAP says that this election is being conducted without following the correct procedure, which is against democracy.

Root of the controversy

The controversy started when BJP leader Kamaljit Sehrawat's seat became vacant after he was elected as a Lok Sabha member from West Delhi seat. Elections are to be held to fill this vacant seat. Meanwhile, there was a controversy in the House over searching the mobile phones of the councilors, after which Mayor Shelly Oberoi postponed the election of the standing committee and postponed the next meeting of the House till October 5.

However, in the meantime, Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) VK Saxena overturned this decision of the Mayor and directed MCD Commissioner Ashwini Kumar to submit a report by 10 pm. After this intervention of LG, the MCD Commissioner issued an order to conduct elections today itself, which further increased the controversy.

The issue was also raised in the Assembly

The impact of this controversy of Delhi MCD reached the Delhi Assembly, where AAP MLA Dilip Pandey raised this issue in the House. Pandey alleged that democracy is being murdered in MCD. He said that the Mayor had adjourned the House yesterday, and the next meeting was to be held on October 5, but after the LG's order at night, the election was ordered to be held again today. He questioned that making an officer the presiding officer is against the democratic process and asked, "Will some babu run the House now?"

Uproar and proceedings adjourned

After allegations of forced elections to the MCD Standing Committee, Aam Aadmi Party MLAs created a ruckus in the Delhi Assembly, due to which the proceedings of the House had to be adjourned for 15 minutes.

Conclusion

The election to the Standing Committee of Delhi MCD has created an uproar in the political corridors. The Aam Aadmi Party is calling it against democracy, while the BJP says that AAP is avoiding facing the elections. Amidst this turmoil, the situation has become more complicated due to the intervention of the LG and the MCD Commissioner. In the coming days, it remains to be seen in which direction this controversy goes and what impact it has on Delhi politics.