MCD Commissioner Ashwani Kumar Orders Standing Committee Election Amid Controversy
MCD Commissioner Ashwani Kumar has issued an order for the Standing Committee member election to be conducted on September 27 at 1 pm. The election was initially scheduled for September 26 but was postponed by Mayor Shelly Oberoi, who argued that councillors should be allowed to carry mobile phones inside the voting hall.
Lt Governor V K Saxena reviewed the situation and directed that the election be held as soon as possible. He also stated that if the Mayor or Deputy Mayor were unavailable, the senior-most member should preside over the meeting. The Mayor responded that any election before October 5 would be illegal, while the Deputy Mayor and senior-most member did not respond.
The Lt Governor emphasized the importance of the Standing Committee for municipal functions, noting that its non-constitution for 21 months has hindered decision-making. Therefore, he directed the election to be held on September 27, with Jitender Yadav acting as the Returning Officer. The election process will be video-recorded, and mobile phones and electronic gadgets are banned in the voting hall to ensure ballot secrecy.
Earlier, the election was postponed due to protests by AAP councillors against the mobile phone ban.
Doubts Revealed
MCD -: MCD stands for Municipal Corporation of Delhi. It is a local government body that takes care of civic services like roads, schools, and hospitals in Delhi.
Commissioner -: A Commissioner is a high-ranking official in charge of a specific department or organization. In this case, Ashwani Kumar is the Commissioner of the MCD.
Standing Committee -: A Standing Committee is a group of people chosen to make decisions on specific matters. They help in managing and overseeing various functions of the MCD.
Controversy -: Controversy means a situation where people have strong disagreements or arguments about something. Here, it refers to disagreements about the election process.
Mayor -: A Mayor is the elected head of a city or town. Shelly Oberoi is the Mayor of Delhi, responsible for overseeing the city’s administration.
Lt Governor -: Lt Governor stands for Lieutenant Governor, a representative of the central government in a Union Territory. V K Saxena is the Lt Governor of Delhi.
Intervened -: Intervened means to get involved in a situation to help solve a problem. Lt Governor V K Saxena got involved to ensure the election happens.
Video-recorded -: Video-recorded means capturing the event on camera. This is done to keep a record and ensure transparency in the election process.
Ballot secrecy -: Ballot secrecy means keeping the votes private so that no one knows who voted for whom. This ensures fair and unbiased voting.
