Delhi Mayor Says BJP Councillors Broke Podium, Tore Ballot Box, Adjourns House Till 10 AM Tomorrow

The Aam Aadmi Party alleged BJP of stalling elections to the six-member standing committee while BJP claimed violation of secret ballot during the polls and demanded fresh elections.

Delhi mayor Shelly Oberoi adjourned the House amid ruckus created by AAP and BJP councilors. ( Image Source :ANI )

New Delhi: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi House was again adjourned on Thursday till 10 am tomorrow as Aam Aadmi Party and Bharatiya Janata Party councillors continued to clash with each other amid heavy chaos and sloganeering, sources told ABP News. The newly-elected Delhi mayor Shelly Oberoi said that BJP's Rekha Sharma broke the podium and microphone while Amit Nagpal tore the ballot box and action will be taken against them. 

She dubbed the incident as "shameful" and said that the BJP was "afraid".

"They did not respect the house & did not respect democracy again. This is extremely shameful. We are not afraid of cross-voting at all, people from Delhi have given us the mandate and shown faith in us. They (BJP) have lost elections, they'll be afraid," the mayor said. 

The chaos, which witnessed ballot boxes flying at each other and exchanging blows, started during the election for the six-member standing committee when the Opposition BJP alleged councillors of taking photographs of the ballots through their mobile phones, which is a violation of secret ballot. Henceforth, BJP has demanded the votes cast be rejected and fresh elections are conducted.

#WATCH | Delhi: Proceedings of the MCD house adjourned again for an hour amid sloganeering in the house. pic.twitter.com/MkaRKfKAqL

— ANI (@ANI) February 23, 2023

Amid the conundrum, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged the BJP of stalling the polls. 

"BJP councillors are trying to postpone the standing committee polls. The Supreme Court had clearly said that all elections should happen in the first sitting. So, we want the elections today only, whether it happens at night or in the morning."

"BJP deliberatly wants to conduct the whole election of the standing committee again. In this way, the process will never end. The MCD Secretary has also said that they only have 245 ballots, and we can't conduct the whole election again," he added. 

Hitting back at the AAP, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla called it an "Anarchist Acrimonious Party". "AAP = Anarchist Acrimonious Party. Fearing defeat and cross-voting; you engineer every attempt to sabotage and steamroll rules and laws! Then play the victim card! If this is how affairs will be conducted on Day 1 by the Mayor, people of Delhi better brace themselves," he said on Twitter.

The House was adjourned on Wednesday night also following the ruckus. 

 Mayor Shelly Oberoi had alleged that BJP councillors tried to attack her as she tried to conduct the standing committee election. "BJP Councillors just tried to attack me while I was conducting the Standing Committee elections, as per Supreme Court orders! This is the extent of BJP’s Gundagardi that they are trying to attack a woman Mayor," she tweeted.