Amid a clash between the councillors of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the maiden meeting of the newly elected Municipal Corporation of Delhi House on Friday, January 6, was adjourned without electing the mayor and the deputy mayor. The Arvind Kejriwal-led party also accused the BJP of trying to win the mayoral polls through “wrong means”. The BJP, in response, said that “AAP doesn’t have faith in the established rules and norms.” According to NDTV, AAP and BJP workers were seen hitting and pushing each other, falling and climbing on desks inside the MCD Civic Centre, at the meeting.
The protests on Friday erupted after BJP councillor Satya Sharma, the presiding officer overseeing the process, invited an alderman – a person over the age of 25 who is nominated to the corporation by the Lieutenant Governor (L-G) – to take oath. AAP MLAs and councillors rushed to the centre of the House, saying that elected councillors should have been sworn in before the nominated members.