East Delhi Municipal Corporation terminates Tahir Hussain’s membership

Nirmal Jain, EDMC mayor, cited the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act and said if a councillor remains absent from meetings of the corporation for three successive times, without permission, his/her membership can be ended.

The East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) has cleared a proposal seeking termination of suspended Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain’s membership. Hussain is currently in jail for his alleged involvement in the Delhi riots in February. The Delhi police have named Hussain as one of the prime conspirators of the riots that left 53 people dead and around 400 injured.

Suspended AAP councillor Tahir Hussain (right) is accused of being involved in the Delhi riots that took place in February. (PTI)

The proposal to terminate Hussain’s membership was passed on Wednesday as he has not attended EDMC’s meetings during its three successive sittings.

Nirmal Jain, EDMC mayor, cited the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act and said if a councillor remains absent from meetings of the corporation for three successive times, without permission, his/her membership can be ended.

“Tahir Hussain has not attended any of the House meetings in the last 3-4 months. He has not informed me or the corporation about the reasons behind his absence. So, on Wednesday in a House meeting of the EDMC, we have passed a proposal to terminate his membership on the grounds that he skipped at least three successive House meetings without informing the corporation.”

Jain added the proposal will now be sent to the EDMC secretary for further administrative proceedings.

“Now that the house has approved the proposal, so his membership stands cancelled and his seat (ward 59E) can be considered vacant. The proposal will be sent to the lieutenant governor (Anil Baijal) to inform him about the decision,” the EDMC official said.

Senior advocate KK Manan, Tahir’s lawyer, said that his client was in the police custody and the police should have taken him for the house meetings.

The move was initiated after the Bharatiya Janata Party on August 11 demanded termination of Hussain’s membership.

Hussain was elected as a councillor from the Nehru Vihar ward. AAP suspended him after allegations of his involvement in the north-east Delhi riots emerged.

The Delhi police have said they found petrol bombs and explosives from the terrace of his house in Chand Bagh in Northeast Delhi. Hussain is in jail for the murder of Intelligence Bureau staffer Ankit Sharma, who was killed during the riots, and conspiracy. Hussain has denied the charges and said he was being framed as part of an alleged political conspiracy.

A Delhi court took cognisance last week of a charge sheet filed against him and is due to start his trial.

The AAP refused to comment on the issue.