New Delhi: The counting of votes for six members of the Standing Committee, an important body of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), was disrupted today after the BJP objected to the invalidation of one vote.
Earlier, members of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the BJP climbed on to the table and shouted slogans against each other at the Municipal Corporation of Delhi House.
There was a fight between the councillors. A woman’s hair was also pulled. BJP councillors said they will not allow re-counting.
The BJP disrupted the counting of votes after the mayor declared one vote invalid. The mayor, however, insisted that the result would be declared without an invalid vote.
After this, chaos spread in the House. The councillors from both sides exchanged heated arguments and thrashed each other. Even clothes of some councillors were torn during scuffle.
At least 242 of the 250 councillors of the Aam Aadmi Party-ruled Municipal Corporation of Delhi voted to elect six members of the MCD’s standing committee. The standing committee is an empowered body of the municipal corporation that decides how to use the funds and on which projects to do so.
AAP leader Shelley Oberoi, who was elected mayor earlier this week after a delay of two months, declared one vote invalid. She came under attack from angry BJP councillors. “You don’t have consciousness,” the BJP councillors shouted at him.
Some BJP councillors shouted “Jai Shri Ram” slogans and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Seven candidates are in the fray for the standing committee elections. The Aam Aadmi Party has nominated Amil Malik, Raminder Kaur, Mohini Jinwal and Sarika Chaudhary. The BJP has fielded Kamaljit Sehrawat and Pankaj Luthra. Independent councillor Gajendra Singh Daral, who joined the BJP, is also a candidate.
Mayor Shelly Oberoi said, “One side is ready for recounting while the other side is not ready, so now I am not recounting. The result is being made on the basis of an illegal vote.”