Reconsider nominations of 10 aldermen in MCD: CM Kejriwal to L-G VK Saxena

New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote to the Delhi L-G on Thursday asking him to ‘reconsider’ the nomination of 10 aldermen he has made to MCD.

In a related development, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has also written to the Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, asking him to “desist” from taking any further action on the issue.

As per the letter, the nominations made to the MCD are forwarded through Delhi’s Urban Development Minister but in this case the MCD Commissioner has sent files directly to the L-G. This stands contrary to the division of powers in Delhi as well as goes against the judgment of the Supreme Court’s constitution bench, CM stated.

Through the letter the CM has taken up the issue of ‘the willful bypassing of the elected government in favour of vested interests’ and commented, “Traditionally, all files pertaining to nominations under Section 3(b)i) are routed through the Urban Development Department which is the nodal department / Ministry of the Municipal Corporation. Such files are required and have, in the past, always been put up to the Minister-in-Charge of Urban Development Department/ Ministry. In a complete departure from this settled practice, files were routed directly by the MCD Commissioner to Lieutenant Governor,completely bypassing the Delhi government, This is contrary to law and the Constitution.”

The CM has also flagged an alleged attempt to rig the composition of the standing committee of the MCD through these nominations.

In the letter he has pointed out, “The attempt in the present instance appears to be to influence the process of elections to the Standing Committee of the Municipal Corporation by the nomination of these members.” The CM has further noted that the amendments to the MCD Act too do not inflict any change upon the established practice of nominations.

Aldermen refers to people who are experts in their fields. However, they do not have voting rights in the mayoral election.

Sisodia also wrote to MCD Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti over the “bypassing of elected state government” during the nominations of aldermen and directed him to desist from taking any further action in regard.

Calling himself the competent authority in the matter who has been completely bypassed, he claimed the nomination is contrary to Article 239AA of the Constitution as well as to the interpretation made by the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court.

“It is unfortunate that this kind of action has been resorted to while bypassing the elected government of Delhi. I call upon you to desist from taking any further action upon the illegal notification and with regard to the swearing-in of the 10 persons. Files related to such nominations are always

sent by the Municipal Corporation through the Urban Development Department, which has not been done in this case,” he added.

Reacting to CM’s letter, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor has said that the letter written by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to Lieutenant Governor Vinay Kumar Saxena regarding the appointment of Alderman in the Municipal Corporation today is a proof of his political desperation and once again the Chief Minister has played the Victim Card. Kapoor said, “If he had sought information from the law department, he would have come to know that according to the amended Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, now the corporation is answerable to the Central Government, that is, to the L-G and the L-G is free to make decisions related to the Municipal Corporation.”

The first municipal House after the high-stakes civic polls on December 4 is scheduled to take place on Friday when all newly elected councillors will take oaths and the mayor and the deputy mayor will be elected.