Manish Sisodia Accuses BJP of Undermining Democracy in Delhi MCD Elections

Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of trying to undermine democracy in the Delhi Municipal Corporation. He claimed that the BJP forced a late-night election for a standing committee member, despite the House meeting being adjourned.

Allegations Against BJP

Manish Sisodia stated, “Tonight, on the orders of PM Narendra Modi, BJP is killing democracy in the Delhi Municipal Corporation. The election of the standing committee member was to be held in the Delhi Municipal Corporation today. Mayor Shelly Oberoi tried to conduct the election for the Standing Committee but there was uproar in the House and it had to be adjourned. The Mayor adjourned the House till 5 October and decided that now the meeting would be held again on 5 October for the election of the Standing Committee.”

Role of Delhi LG VK Saxena

According to Sisodia, Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) VK Saxena, who is currently abroad, ordered the election to be conducted immediately at night. Sisodia said, “At 8:30 pm, Delhi LG wrote a letter to the Commissioner MCD and said that within 1.5 hours that is, by 10:00 pm, the election of the standing committee of MCD should be completed. Delhi LG is in America, but he has written a letter from there and has told the Commissioner that the election of MCD should be conducted immediately at night at any cost.”

Claims of Pre-Knowledge

Sisodia further alleged that BJP councillors knew in advance about the LG’s letter and the commissioner’s orders. He said, “We were thinking what is the motive of the BJP, then we understood what the real game is. An employee of the Municipal Corporation told us that while the councillors of AAP and Congress have left the House, BJP has kept its councillors sitting with its chairman and MPs near the Commissioner in the MCD House. All the councillors of the BJP are sitting there right now. They knew beforehand that Delhi LG would write a letter, and the commissioner’s orders were coming by 10 pm. They knew everything beforehand, that’s why everyone is standing there.”

LG’s Directive

Earlier, Delhi LG VK Saxena directed the MCD Commissioner to submit a report on the conduct of elections for the sixth member of the standing committee by 10 pm. He stated, “In case the Mayor is unavailable or refuses to preside over the meeting, the Deputy Mayor may be requested to preside over the meeting for conduct of elections. In case both are unwilling or unavailable, the seniormost member in order of seniority may be requested to discharge this function.”

Postponement of Election

Meanwhile, MCD Commissioner Ashwani Kumar issued an order for conducting the Standing Committee member election on September 27 at 1 pm. However, the election was postponed as the House meeting was adjourned following protests by AAP councillors against the decision to ban mobile phones in the House.