AAP to move Supreme Court on MCD panel poll: Atishi; BJP hits back

Delhi chief minister Atishi on Saturday said that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will move the Supreme Court against the “illegal, unconstitutional and undemocratic” election of the sixth member of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) standing committee held on Friday. The AAP leader called the election a “murder of democracy” and said it was conducted by making an IAS officer the presiding officer instead of the mayor on the instruction of lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena.
The Bharatiya Janata Party hit back, saying the AAP has “destroyed” MCD over the last 22 months, and accusing Atishi of making “misleading statements” to divert attention from the AAP’s “loss” in the standing committee election.
Speaking at a press conference, Atishi said only the mayor can act as the presiding officer of standing committee elections.
“On Friday the BJP held election for the sixth member of the MCD standing committee. This election was illegal, unconstitutional and undemocratic. Parliament has passed the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act 1957 to run the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). Under the rules, only the mayor can determine the date and place for the election of standing committee members and will also act as the presiding officer,” Atishi said in a press conference at AAP headquarters. “A petition will be filed in the Supreme Court… because the election that the BJP conducted is completely illegal,” said Atishi.
The AAP is the ruling party in MCD and the BJP is the principal opposition party. The BJP on Friday secured the final seat on the MCD standing committee in an election that was boycotted by the AAP. The result of the vote won by BJP candidate Sunder Singh from Bhati tilted the balance of power on the key-18 member panel in favour of BJP and gave it control of the agency’s purse strings.
“The BJP is not bothered by the Constitution or the rules and regulations. The BJP is not bothered by the ripping off of democracy. In a blatant violation of democracy, constitution and law, the LG did not have the power, an IAS officer who did not have the power to call a meeting of the House, yet the LG gave the order, the commissioner obeyed that order. He called a meeting of the corporation for elections, and instead of the elected mayor and deputy mayor, he made an IAS officer the presiding officer,” Atishi said.
“The BJP, the LG and his officers violated the Constitution and democracy at every level in the illegal election. But this is not the first time. This is BJP’s standing operating procedure. Wherever BJP does not win the elections, it tries to form the government through the backdoor by violating rules, laws and the Constitution. We have seen that from 2014 to 2024, in the states where BJP lost the elections, they formed the government through the back door by horse trading MLAs through ‘Operation Lotus’, by putting pressure through ED-CBI. The BJP formed governments in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, and Manipur by doing this,” Atishi said.
The AAP leader said that the BJP did not allow the election of the mayor to take place. “We have seen how the BJP tried to get votes from aldermen who do not have the right to vote in the mayor election, in an illegal, undemocratic way. We saw how BJP’s Anil Masih tried to steal the Chandigarh mayoral election for the BJP but the Supreme Court came forward and saved democracy,” said Atishi.
“If BJP has the courage, then face the AAP in the elections. If you want to conduct MCD elections, then dissolve the MCD and hold elections and let the truth come out as to who the people of Delhi want. Stop murdering democracy like this by misusing the powers of the LG and officers, otherwise the people of Delhi will give a befitting reply in the coming elections,” said Atishi.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said that MCD assured the high court in an affidavit that the formation of the standing committee would be completed by the last week of September. “Following this, the MCD commissioner and the mayor called a meeting on September 26 for the election of standing committee members. However, under pressure from AAP leaders, the mayor postponed the meeting to October 5, which is a direct violation of the affidavit given to the Delhi high court. Atishi should know that under Section 45 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, whose provisions she is now citing, the formation of the standing committee is mandatory. Under Section 487, the LG and the municipal commissioner have the authority to convene a corporation meeting under special circumstances and can appoint a presiding officer for that meeting,” said Sachdeva.
“Atishi is the head of the Delhi government. It would be better if she does not spread confusion regarding the provisions of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, if she is unaware, she should first understand the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act. She should explain why the AAP is not allowing the appointment of a Dalit mayor in the third year, as mandated by the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act. The chief minister should immediately ensure the appointment of a Dalit mayor and the chairperson of the standing committee to honour the spirit of the Municipal Corporation Act, and protect the rights of the people of Delhi and Dalits,” said Sachdeva.
“In the past 22 months AAP brought the functioning of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to a complete standstill. The standing committee, considered the lifeline of the corporation, was not formed, nor were other constitutional and ad-hoc committees, leading to a paralysis of most corporation activities. The AAP did not even want the standing committee elections in the first place. The process is happening only due to the Supreme Court’s order of August 5, 2024, and pressure from the Delhi high court,” said Sachdeva.