Ruckus in MCD House in Delhi, 4 BJP members suspended

Mayor Shelly Oberoi suspended the BJP councillors — including opposition leader Raja Iqbal Singh — for 15 days

Four councillors of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were suspended from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) House on Thursday for protesting in the House demanding the arrest of health minister Saurabh Bharadwaj alleging the supply of “fake drugs” to Delhi government hospitals.

BJP councillors protest during the MCD session on Thursday. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

Mayor Shelly Oberoi suspended the BJP councillors — including opposition leader Raja Iqbal Singh, Yogender Verma, Gajender Singh, and Ravi Negi — for 15 days for “creating a ruckus” and said they were not ready for discussions on the issues of the people.

Amid the chaos, the mayor approved 20 proposals, deferred three, and referred two back for further consideration. The House was adjourned shortly after commencement amid disruptions from BJP and Congress councillors, who sought answers on delayed employee salaries, pensions, and house taxes, and other issues.

Oberoi said: “The councillors of BJP and leader of opposition Raja Iqbal Singh started creating a ruckus even before the start of the meeting. Sometimes they bring private mics and sometimes they stand on the table. Create a ruckus by raising hoardings and posters. He does not want to discuss the issues of citizens, employees and businessmen. Along with this, such issues are raised which have nothing to do with MCD. This time too, they were given many warnings and asked to speak about those issues that are related to MCD. They seem disinterested in discussing the issues related to the people and bring topics not related to MCD.”

Raj Iqbal Singh hit back and said: “There was an uproar in the House meeting due to the dictatorial attitude of AAP. When we said that the Judicial Committee of the Supreme Court had given orders to de-seal all sealed shops and asked how many local shopping complexes have been de-sealed in pursuance of that order, the mayor had no answer. When the opposition brought up the issue of the Delhi government giving fake medicines to the public and demanded the arrest of Saurabh Bhardwaj, the mayor got angry and I was suspended for 15 days.”

As soon as the House began on Thursday, BJP councillors staged a protest citing the lack of information about the purpose of convening the House. Singh demanded Bharadwaj’s arrest over “fake medicines supply”. The councillors carried placards with slogans like “Saurabh Bharadwaj ko jail bhejo” (send Saurabh Bharadwaj to jail).

18 proposals passed

MCD House on Thursday passed 18 proposals including collection of toll tax and Environment Compensation Charge (ECC) on commercial vehicles, demerger of two municipal-run hospitals, and expenditure sanction for the purchase of school bags for students.

The corporation has given its nod to engage in a fresh contract for the collection of toll tax and ECC on commercial vehicles entering Delhi at border points for three years. The present MCD contract with Sahakar Global Limited will expire in April 2024, according to the agenda tabled in the House.

The House accorded its approval for the demerger of Rajan Babu Institute of Pulmonary Medicine and Tuberculosis and Maharishi Valmiki Infection Diseases Hospital which shares a facility on a single campus.

Further, it also gave administrative approval and expenditure sanction to distribute ₹120 per child enrolled in pre-primary to Class 5 for school bags during the current year 2023-24.

Meanwhile, amid the ruckus, the House postponed three proposals including the construction of a multi-level car parking in New Friends Colony, Jangpura, and Kalkaji. The House referred back two items to MCD commissioner Gyanesh Bharti for reconsideration that can be tabled in its next meeting.

(With PTI inputs)