Few meetings, adjournments within minutes — A look at Delhi Mayor’s 21-month tenure

While the AAP has accused the BJP of “deliberately avoiding discussions”, the BJP has accused it of “tactically creating circumstances” to promote a clash and adjournment.

Elections for a caller Mayor are present scheduled connected Thursday, aft respective disruptions and a Supreme Court verdict.

Since AAP’s Shelly Oberoi became Mayor successful February 2023, 18 consecutive MCD House sessions person been adjourned without treatment — the highest successful caller years successful the civic body’s history, according to accusation received from MCD officials.

Consider this:

– August 2024: The Mayor arrived 45 minutes late. Opposition councillors, already riled up implicit the hold successful Standing Committee elections, tore docket pages and hurled them toward the Mayor’s podium. The gathering was adjourned wrong 10 to 15 minutes amid sloganeering.

– June 2024: BJP councillors protested the Mayor’s precocious arrival, resulting successful an adjournment successful 15 minutes, with cardinal discussions specified arsenic a connection to automatically summation parking charges arsenic contamination rises postponed.

– January 2024: BJP councillors blocked the Mayor’s entree to her spot and prevented the municipal caput from entering the House. The standoff lasted for hours, requiring constabulary beingness to reconstruct order.

– July 2023: A BJP councillor allegedly grabbed the microphone from AAP’s Leader of the House mid-speech and handed it implicit to BJP’s Leader of the Opposition. The league was adjourned wrong 10 minutes, leaving the docket untouched.

Budget presentations were nary different, with abrupt cancellations and delays. The Standing Committee, an 18-member assemblage without which nary projects exceeding Rs 5 crore tin beryllium passed, is yet to beryllium constituted.

In September, a league scheduled for the predetermination of the last Standing Committee spot devolved into a confrontation implicit information measures. AAP councillors protested the heavy-handed checks, starring to adjournments. The pursuing day, the BJP secured a bulk successful the Standing Committee aft some AAP and Congress boycotted the vote. However, the triumph was short-lived arsenic AAP challenged the results successful court, preventing the Standing Committee from being formally constituted.

Holding 1 MCD House league costs astir Rs 3 lakh, officials said. “There are costs incurred successful printing gathering agendas (more than 300 copies); 24 riders are hired truthful the docket tin beryllium delivered to each councillor; determination is the outgo of petrol arsenic a councillor is paid Rs 300 to be each league that adds up to Rs 75,000; arrangements are made for refreshments too,” an MCD authoritative said.

Oberoi did not respond to questions regarding the adjournments.

In effect to questions posed by The Indian Express, AAP said, “As soon arsenic House meetings start, BJP councillors statesman making noise, shouting slogans, and holding up banners. They adjacent spell arsenic acold arsenic climbing onto chairs, and sometimes onto the Mayor’s chair… The BJP has incessantly tried to disrupt work, either by undemocratically holding the Standing Committee predetermination oregon flouting the rules of MCD House.”

The BJP deed back. “Fearing a revolt by its councillors, the AAP enactment tactically creates circumstances for a clash to hap with the Opposition. We expect it volition hap connected Thursday arsenic the AAP enactment does not privation to spell into mayoral polls,” Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said.