‘Budget unconstitutional’: BJP on Delhi civic meet; ‘BJP did not ask for count’: AAP

To be sure, the AAP became a minority in the house due to a series of defections to the BJP on February 15, a week since the latter’s resounding win in the Delhi Assembly elections

New Delhi

Councillors confront one another in the MCD budget meeting on Wednesday. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday claimed that the MCD budget presented by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was unconstitutional as the AAP was not in majority, whereas the AAP said that the BJP, over the past month, never formally insisted on taking a count and that the leader of Opposition also read out the Opposition budget proposal on March 3, which acknowledged that the BJP was in Opposition.

Leader of Opposition Raja Iqbal Singh, of the BJP, said: “As soon as the house meeting started, we approached the dais and urged mayor Mahesh Khichi to count the number of councillors according to the party, because the AAP was in the minority. However, without counting, the AAP started the proceedings, which led to the ruckus. It is the responsibility of the ruling party to resolve the deadlock in the house and ensure smooth proceedings.”

“However, the AAP leaders deliberately do not want the house to run so that the corruption they are involved in is not discussed,” Singh said.

To be sure, the AAP became a minority in the house due to a series of defections to the BJP on February 15, a week since the latter’s resounding win in the Delhi Assembly elections. This has left the BJP with 116 councillors, AAP with 114 and Congress with eight in the run-up to civic polls. However, there has been no formal motion acknowledging the same, to lead to a change in the leadership.

Currently, mayor Mahesh Khichi is from the AAP and his post is not under imminent threat even as the BJP has a slightly higher number in the MCD house as the rules allow for a mayor to hold their position without the need for a majority. Also, the next civic polls are scheduled for next month.

In a press conference, leader of the house Mukesh Goel said that despite being defeated by the people of Delhi, the BJP sought to take control of the MCD by “hook or crook”.

“By scaring councillors, buying them and using other tactics, they want to come to power. They have not been successful but this is their plan,” he said.

Goyal said that since the BJP talks about a “triple-engine government, then there should be no budget shortage” in the MCD. “They should talk to the chief minister and get ₹14,000 crore from the Delhi government to clear all liabilities.”

MCD officials acknowledged that the BJP did not officially ask for division of votes during house meetings over the last month.