MCD House adjourned for the day as AAP, BJP councillors spar
New Delhi (PTI): The MCD House was adjourned for the day on Thursday as ruckus and sloganeering continued over the election of six members of the standing committee.
While the BJP is protesting against Mayor Shelly Oberoi's decision to allow members to carry mobile phones to the booth area during the election of the MCD panel, the AAP accused the saffron party of resorting to "hooliganism" because of its defeat in the mayoral polls.
On Thursday, the House met at 8.30 am but was adjourned for an hour amid sloganeering. As the House reconvened at 9.30 am, the ruckus continued and the mayor adjourned the proceedings till 10 am on Friday.
Addressing a press conference at the civic centre, Oberoi alleged that ballot papers were torn by the BJP councillors during the election.
"It's shameful what the BJP councillors did. The ballot box was thrown and ballot papers were torn and I was attacked," she alleged.
"The BJP resorted to unconstitutional behaviour in the House once again. BJP's Rekha Gupta and Amit Nagpal resorted to hooliganism in the House and we will take action against them," she said.
Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh alleged that the BJP is "not being able to accept their defeat" in the MCD mayoral polls.
The session started on Wednesday to elect the mayor, deputy mayor and member of the standing committee after the Supreme Court ruling on the matter. The House, in the last 20 hours, witnessed brawls, sloganeering and over a dozen adjournments.
Several members of the BJP and AAP had on Wednesday night exchanged blows and hurled plastic bottles at each other in the chamber of the MCD House, on a day the city got its new mayor.
BJP councillors have demanded that the 40 votes cast till Thursday morning for the standing committee members should be declared null and void as the councillors carried mobiles phone with them.
However, the mayor said there is no rule against the councillors carrying their mobile phones. As both the sides are refusing to budge, there appears to be no end to the impasse.
The clashes between AAP-BJP members on Wednesday were triggered by a bitter argument between the two sides over the mode of conducting the election to the members of the standing committee
A few BJP members claimed that some of their fellow party councillors got hit with objects flung in the air, while Oberoi alleged that some BJP councillors tried to attack her during the proceedings to hold the election.
Oberoi, an AAP leader, alleged that many BJP councillors tried to "attack" her when she was conducting the election.
"The extent of BJP's hooliganism is that they are trying to attack a woman," she was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the AAP.
AAP MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that the BJP was not allowing the standing committee elections to take place.
"We want elections (to six members of Standing Committee). Despite the Supreme Court's order, the BJP is still creating ruckus and not allowing elections to take place, but the House will continue to function until the election process is over," he tweeted in Hindi.
Senior BJP leader Vijender Gupta held a press conference past midnight and slammed the AAP and party chief Arvind Kejriwal for the incident.
AAP won the election to the posts of both the mayor and deputy mayor on Wednesday and the standing committee members' election was held over an hour after the deputy mayor was elected.
The House proceedings began around 11:30 am on Wednesday and business was conducted smoothly as AAP's Oberoi emerged victorious in the mayoral poll, defeating BJP's Rekha Gupta by a margin of 34 votes.
After the mayoral election, the House was briefly adjourned and then it resumed to elect the deputy mayor, again AAP's Aaley Mohammed Iqbal winning the election, defeating BJP's Kamal Bagri
Mayor Oberoi then adjourned the House for an hour.
As the mayor permitted carrying mobile phone to the booth area, BJP members opposed it.
Many of them later trooped to the Well of the House, and chanted anti-Arvind Kejriwal slogans.
"People who don't maintain order in the House, will be thrown out," the newly-elected mayor said.
Carrying of mobile phone and pen was not permitted during the proceedings of the election for the posts of mayor and deputy mayor. The BJP members were opposing the decision to allow it.
The mayor adjourned the House around 6.35 pm. Many members had already voted by then.
Seven candidates are in the fray for the six members of the standing committee.
On February 17, the Supreme Court had ordered issuing of a notice within 24 hours for convening the first meeting of the MCD to fix the date of elections for the mayor, the deputy mayor and the members of the standing committee of the civic body.
Key Delhi Civic Body Poll Called Off, BJP Mayor Contender Rips Off Mic https://t.co/WCqyZPc9Gi pic.twitter.com/TSvjdTZhJ4
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JPC on Waqf Bill postpones study tour to Kolkata, Patna, Lucknow as members busy in election
Bhubaneswar, Nov 11: The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 has postponed its study tour to Kolkata Patna, and Lucknow as many of its members are busy in elections, the panel chief said on Monday.
The JPC has completed its first phase of study tour to states like Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Gujarat to hear the versions of stakeholders on the Waqf Amendment Bill.
Opposition members boycotted the second phase tour, which started on November 9 and was scheduled to end on November 14. The panel held its meetings at Guwahati on Saturday and here on Monday.
“Many of my colleagues informed us that they have engagements in state elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. Besides, by-polls are there in many states. So, they were not able to attend the meeting. On their request, I have decided to postpone the study tour,” JPC's Chairman Jagdambika Pal said here.
He said the study tour to Kolkata, Patna, and Lucknow will be rescheduled.
“We wish that all members of the panel should participate in the deliberations,” he added.
He said that the JPC had a ‘very successful’ meeting in Bhubaneswar on Monday and also in Guwahati two days ago.
During the day, the JPC held discussions with representatives from the Odisha government, state minority commission, state Waqf board, senior advocates, social activists and other stakeholders from the state for more than eight hours, Pal said.
"The stakeholders have given their views and opinions on the proposed Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. Our Joint Parliamentary Committee will examine the views and incorporate the contents in its report", he told media persons earlier in the day.
Pal said it is the responsibility of the JPC to hear the stakeholders of Odisha and it is doing so.
"Whether someone has joined or not, it doesn't make any difference," he said when asked about the absence of the opposition members in the meeting.
The committee will submit its report to the Lok Sabha Speaker by the last working day of the upcoming winter session of the Parliament, he said.
The opposition members of the JPC had decided to boycott this tour, alleging that the chairperson was acting arbitrarily and their request to defer the trip was unheeded.
Since the formation of the JPC in August this year, the panel has held discussions with different stakeholders for over 100 hours in 25 formal sittings in New Delhi only, said Dilip Saikia, a member of the JPC.
"We have taken views and suggestions from different stakeholders including waqf boards, minority commissions and Muslim institutions/organisations," he said.
The MP said the panel has completed the first phase of the tour to various states including Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, and Gujarat. However, the opposition members have boycotted the second phase tour starting from Guwahati on Saturday, which is "unfortunate", Saikia said.
"The waqf boards need to be accountable for proper management of its properties, to empower the poor Muslims and to give its benefits to marginal sections of society," he said.
Another member of the panel, Aparajita Sarangi, said, "About 38 lakh acres of land is under the control of Waqf boards in India. We need to rectify the governance system and administration."
Sarangi, the Bhubaneswar MP, said that representatives from 16 organisations have participated in today’s meeting. Many individuals have also submitted their views before the panel.
Prior to Bhubaneswar, the panel visited other major cities, including Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Guwahati, where discussions covered a range of issues surrounding Waqf property management and proposed amendments to the Wakf Act, 1995.
