The election to the standing committee of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) was postponed as the House meeting was adjourned by Mayor Shelly Oberoi, until October 5 on Thursday following the chaos over the decision to ban mobile phones in the House before the beginning of the elections.
As soon as Mayor entered the House, she raised concern over the security check of councillors, and ordered that councillors be allowed in without checks and first adjourned the session for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, the Municipal Commissioner Ashwani Kumar explained the decision to ban mobile phones was taken to ensure the secrecy of the ballots.
After returning, the Mayor stated that the ban on mobile phones was a first-time measure and expressed frustration that her orders were not being followed. She adjourned the session for a second time, and ultimately the meeting was postponed until October 5, stating that her directives are not being followed.
The AAP councilors protested outside the civic body’s House, demanding that they should be allowed in without being searched. However, Municipal Secretary Shiva Prasad KV clarified that, under rule 51(5) of the DMC Act, mobile phones are prohibited in the House to maintain voting secrecy. He added that phones would only be allowed after voting was complete.
Out of the 18-member Standing Committee, elections for 17 members were concluded, with eight seats won by AAP and nine won by BJP. The formation of this key committee is critical for approving important financial proposals that have been pending for over 20 months.
Speaking on the dynamics of the civic committee elections, Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Devender Yadav said that the nine Congress Councillors will remain neutral, and will not be part of any horse-trading in the election. He added that that the Congress stand was clear that it was answerable to the people of Delhi, who elected the councillors to serve them, and not to work for petty political gains.