Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena
Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, in an order late on Thursday night, asked the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Commissioner to hold elections on the vacant seat of the corporation’s standing committee on Friday, i.e. today. Earlier in the day, there was a dramatic turn of events in the matter with Mayor Shelly Oberoi postponing the election till October 5, when the Lt. Governor later reversed the mayor’s decision.
MCD Commissioner Ashwini Kumar, in an order issued late at night, said that the Lt. Governor has directed the election of one member of the Standing Committee at 1 pm today.
According to this order, Additional MCD Commissioner Jitendra Yadav has been appointed as the presiding officer of the house meeting to conduct the election for the sixth meeting of the committee. The seat fell vacant after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kamaljit Sehrawat was elected as a member of the Lok Sabha from the West Delhi seat.
The order reads that in the public interest and to maintain the democratic spirit of the municipal body, the Lt. Governor has directed that the election be held today at 1 pm. Apart from this, the Lieutenant Governor has also directed that the entire election process can be videographed. To maintain the secrecy of voting, mobile phones and electronic gadgets will not be allowed inside the polling hall.
Mayor Shaili Oberoi postponed the MCD Standing Committee elections after the uproar over the search for councillors. Also the meeting of the House was adjourned till October 5. However, the LG intervened late in the night and reversed the decision to postpone the election for the last vacant meeting of the standing committee and directed MCD commissioner Ashwini Kumar to submit the report by 10 pm. Mayor Shaili Oberoi claimed that this is the first time that a security check has been conducted on the councilors and called it undemocratic and humiliating for the members of the house.