New Delhi [India], September 28 : Delhi Chief Minister Atishi launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday calling the elections for the MCD standing committee held on Friday as "illegal, unconstitutional, and undemocratic."
She read out the Municipal Corporation Act of 1957 and said that the power to call an election only rests with the mayor.
"The MCD election that the BJP has carried out is illegal, unconstitutional, and undemocratic. Our nation runs with the Constitution and with the rules laid out in the Constitution. The parliament had passed a law, the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act 1957. Under that act, there are a lot of rules, laws, byelaws with which the MCD runs," said the Delhi CM during a press conference.
"Firstly in the regulations, it is written clearly that the election will happen in the Corporation's meeting. Secondly, in Regulation 3, sub-section 2, it is written that only the mayor has the power to decide the time, place and date of the meeting. Thirdly, the DMC Act's section 76 tells clearly that whenever there is a meeting, the mayor will be the presiding officer and if the mayor is not there, then the deputy mayor will preside. All this is not said by me, it is the law which is saying this, the act is saying this, the byelaws and regulations in the act are saying this but the BJP does not care about the constitution, laws or even destroying democracy," she added.
Earlier on Friday, BJP's Sunder Singh won the election for MCD standing committee.
AAP had raised strong objections to the election for the one vacancy in the Standing Committee of the MCD, but the elections were held in the presence of Additional Commissioner Jitendra Yadav on Friday.
He was made the Presiding Officer in the absence of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor. AAP had not taken part in the elections. Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi had directed the MCD Commissioner to proceed with the election for the sixth member of the Standing Committee on October 5.
The Delhi CM further said that the LG or the commissioner does not have the power to call for an election, and despite this, the order by the LG was followed and carried out by the commissioner.
"Even when LG does not have the power for it, he gives an order, the commissioner, an IAS officer follows that order and carries it out without having any power to do so. But this is not the first time it has happened, this is BJP's standard operating procedure. Wherever they don't win the election, they try to make the government through the chor darwaza (thief's door)," Atishi said.
"We have seen how between 2014 to 2024, wherever, the BJP lost an election, through Operation Lotus, they have bought MLAs and netas, put pressure on them through CBI and ED and formed the government. They did so in various states like Maharashtra, Goa, Manipur etc," she added.
She further vowed that the party will move to the Supreme Court against the elections held on Friday.
"We will definitely go to the Supreme Court and a petition will be filed in the Supreme Court today because the election that the BJP conducted in the House yesterday is completely illegal. The Delhi Municipal Corporation Act is very clear that the power to call a meeting is only with the Mayor, the right to preside over the meeting is only with the Mayor and in her absence, the Deputy Mayor. So, we will go to the Supreme Court against this undemocratic election and today itself we will apply to this illegal, unconstitutional, undemocratic election in the Supreme Court," the Chief Minister stated.
Earlier, Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi, also expressed concern about the recent order issued by the MCD Commissioner, stating that the scheduled election of the Standing Committee member at 1 pm is considered illegal and unconstitutional. She emphasized that LG should not have the power to interfere in the functioning of the House.
Criticising the BJP for not letting the mayor elections happen earlier, she said, "In Delhi too we saw, when AAP won the MCD election they didn't let the Mayor election happen, when they tried to make the alderman vote in the elections despite them not having the power to do so. It is thankful to the Supreme Court that the court did the elections in a proper way. Similarly in Chandigarh mayor's election, they tried to steal the election through Anil Masih."
She further issued a "challenge" to the BJP to face AAP in the elections and to dissolve the MCD standing committee and hold fresh elections for the public of Delhi.
"I want to tell them that the country doesn't on your gundagardi, it works with laws, it is a democracy and works with the vote of the public. So if you have the guts then face AAP in the elections. If you want to do MCD elections, then dissolve it, then let the Delhi's public decide who they want," she said.