Delhi CM Kejriwal hails SC verdict, MCD moves file for mayoral polls

The top court, while hearing a petition by the Aam Aadmi Party mayor candidate Shelley Oberoi, ruled on Friday that the nominated aldermen cannot vote in the mayor elections

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday hailed the Supreme Court order over Delhi mayor elections as a “victory of democracy”.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. (ANI)

“SC’s order is the victory of democracy. I thank the Supreme Court; Delhi will now get a mayor after two and a half months. It has been proven in court that the LG and the BJP are regularly passing illegal and unconstitutional orders in Delhi,” Kejriwal tweeted.

The top court, while hearing a petition by the Aam Aadmi Party mayor candidate Shelley Oberoi, ruled on Friday that the nominated aldermen cannot vote in the mayor elections, and made it clear that once a mayor is elected she will preside over the polls to the post of deputy mayor and the six members to the standing committee.

Differences between the Aam Aadmi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the voting rights and the poll process had stalled the mayor elections even as three sittings of the MCD House were adjourned amid a ruckus by the members.

AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak alleged that all the decisions such as claiming voting rights for nominated members were taken together by the LG and the BJP. “LG was deliberately trying to delay the polls. Now the LG has lost the moral right to remain in power,” Pathak alleged.

The LG office did not respond to the repeated queries seeking comment on allegations by the AAP.

Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said the party will abide by the Supreme Court judgment. “The BJP respects every decision of judiciary. We hope the AAP too will respect the decision of the court and allow election of deputy mayor and standing committee members after mayor polls. I have a feeling that the AAP will disrupt MCD House after mayor elections, as they don’t want the Standing Committee to be constituted since the BJP’s majority there is a foregone conclusion.”

Process on for fixing session date

With the Supreme Court on Friday directing that the next date for holding mayor elections should be announced within next 24 hours, the preparation for holding the House meeting and dates has been initiated by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

A senior official from the LG office said that within the next 24 hours the entire chain of files will have to be cleared by various departments, and that the process is likely to be completed by tomorrow. “The MCD will send the proposal to hold the meeting to the urban development department of the Delhi government, which will forward it to the LG for fixing a date,” the official said.

An MCD spokesperson confirmed that the file for fixing a date for next House meeting was moved to Delhi government late Friday night.

A senior municipal official said that the preparations for the next meeting have been initiated. “According to the existing regulations, we have to provide at least a 72-hour notice to all the members to convene a House meeting. We are planning to move a proposal for holding the House meeting on February 22,” the official said asking not to be named.

An official from the urban development department confirmed on Friday evening that no communication had been received from MCD. The process for fixing the date for inaugural House meeting has been repeated thrice over the last two months as the sessions held on January 6, 24 and February 6 ended without holding mayor polls.