Delhi: AAP councillors suspended after ruckus at EDMC house meeting

Officials said that the AAP councillors wanted a discussion on rising dengue cases while the mayor and the BJP councillors were planning to start off with a discussion on pollution

New Delhi: The general body meeting of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) was disrupted on Wednesday after disagreement over over the topic of discussion by councillors, following which the mayor suspended all the opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillors for 15 days.

The mayor claimed the house was discussing air pollution in the Capital when AAP councillors disrupted it. Officials said the house meeting was suspended thrice due to unruly behaviour by the councillors. (Hindustan Times)

Officials said that the AAP councillors wanted a discussion on rising dengue cases while the mayor and the BJP councillors were planning to start off with a discussion on pollution.

“We were discussing air pollution problem in Delhi but the opposition members wanted to discuss dengue cases first. We had agreed to discuss dengue too but it is the chair’s (mayor) prerogative to decide the order in which discussions can take place,” said EDMC mayor Shyam Sunder Aggarwal. Officials said the house meeting was suspended thrice due to unruly behaviour by the councillors.

The mayor alleged that the opposition councillors entered the well of the house and engaged in “uncivilised behaviour”. “A fight could have broken out between AAP and BJP councillors and we were forced to suspend the house proceedings three times,” he added.

Manoj Kumar Tyagi, the leader of opposition and one of the 15 suspended members, said that the issue regarding the order of discussion on dengue and air pollution had been resolved after the house proceedings were suspended for the first time. “But a BJP councillor had used abusive language against one of the opposition members. So we entered the well and demanded the suspension of the BJP councillor, but the mayor insisted that the well of the house must be cleared first. So instead of suspending the member who broke the decorum, 15 AAP councillors have been suspended,” said Tyagi, calling the mayor’s behaviour “dictatorial”.

Disruptions and ruckus is not uncommon in the EDMC’s general body meetings.

Earlier, 20 AAP councillors were also suspended in last house meeting on September 27 this year for allegedly creating ruckus and disrupting the meeting. Several microphones and plastic screens meant for ensuring Covid appropriate behaviour were also damaged during the proceedings at that time.