The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Mayoral elections deferred; L- G says CM in jail, unable to perform duties
THE MAYORAL elections in the Capital cannot be held on Friday as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is in jail in connection with a “corruption case” and is unable to perform his duties, said Lieutenant Governor ( L- G) V K Saxena on Thursday.
A cloud had been hanging over the internal polls, first, because clearance from the Election Commission of India ( ECI) was awaited and then as a Presiding Officer had not been nominated. Finally, the second point became the reason for the elections being deferred.
“These are peculiar and unprecedented circumstances where the serving Chief Minister is under judicial custody as an under trial prisoner involved in a corruption case and, therefore, cannot discharge his constitutionally obligated functions... I do not deem it appropriate to exercise my power as Administrator to appoint the Presiding Officer in absence of inputs from the Chief Minister,” Saxena noted in a file on the Municipal Corporation’s proposal to hold elections for the post of Mayor and Deputy Mayor at 11 am on April 26. “It is a requirement of law that... the matter should be placed before me through the Hon’ble Chief Minister and Chief Secretary only... the views, only of the Chief Minister, are required on file before arriving at a decision.”
The AAP, which holds majority in the 250- member House, however, said the refusal to give clearance was an insult to the Dalit community as rules require the Mayor to change every year and in its third year, the corporation has to elect a councillor from the Dalit community for the post.
Incumbent Mayor Shelley Oberoi and Deputy Mayor Aaley Mohammad Khan will continue on their posts for the time being.
The proposal for appointing a Presiding Officer was sent to the Chief Minister by the Chief Secretary but returned by his office. In his note, Saxena said the response from Kejriwal’s office on April 22 stated: “As the Hon’ble Chief Minister is presently under JC, the CMO is not in a position to either communicate or put up the file before him for his direction/ instructions”. Saxena added that Urban Development Minister
Saurabh Bharadwaj had also underlined that the CM was under judicial custody and “therefore, can not be involved in the disposal of the proposal.”
Normally, Saxena said, a shortlist of names would be submitted to him after the CM’S recommendations to arrive at a decision but he had received the names of all councillors, except the candidates,
“without any suggested list from the Chief Minister” to pick as Presiding Officer. Given the circumstances, Saxena said, this was “out of the realm of possibility” and any deviation in the process of obtaining advice on the pick “would only be questionable.”
AAP has nominated Mahesh Khichi for the position of mayor, while Ravinder Bhardwaj will contest for the role of deputy mayor. The BJP, meanwhile, nominated councillors Kishan Lal and Neeta Bisht for the posts of mayor and deputy mayor.
“The L- G, nominated by the BJP, cancelled the elections. This time a person from Dalit community was to be made the Mayor but he did not give clearance despite the Election Commission’s go ahead… The Dalit community gets representation once in many years, but BJP is snatching that right,” said AAP MCD in- charge Durgesh Pathak.
AAP MLA from Karol Bagh, Vishesh Ravi, said the move showed that the BJP “does not believe in the constitution, and is also anti- Dalit”.
Reacting to the development, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor questioned why the polls were announced in the first place without the appointment of a presiding officer, accusing AAP leaders of exerting pressure on MCD officials to do so.
“The file ( on election proposal) is facing problems due to the unavailability of the Chief Minister… In the coming times, many such administrative disputes will come to the fore,” Kapoor said.