The new approved policy included a new film shooting policy, changes in some of the rebates provided by the property tax department, etc.
NEW DELHI
Amid ruckus, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) managed to pass 18 policy proposals, postpone three matters, and reject two items. However, no discussions were held on these proposals, which were cleared with a voice vote, although BJP members carrying placards held protests in the house, demanding the long-pending constitution of ward committees and the standing committee.
The new approved policy included a new film shooting policy, changes in some of the rebates provided by the property tax department, the addition of more than 10,000 CCTV cameras, around 3,000 security guards, and around 3,600 cleaning staff for MCD primary schools. Except for this, issues related to sanitation, cleaning of drains, the shortage of gardening staff, and issues of stray dogs and monkeys were discussed in the house meeting.
However, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members objected to the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) introducing a large number of policy proposals directly in the house, bypassing the yet-to-be-formed standing committee, which controls MCD’s purse strings, and ratifying the agenda for discussion in the house.
Just after the house concluded, Congress councillors sat outside the mayor’s office and started protesting against AAP councillors. They claimed that AAP councillors misbehaved with them during the in-house proceedings. Congress councillors said that an AAP councillor had made ‘abusive’ remarks interrupting a Congress councillor’s speech using a personal microphone. They demanded an apology from the respective councillor and asked the mayor to expel him.
Naziya Danish, Congress councillor from Zakir Nagar said, “One of the councillors from the Aam Adami Party abused one of our councillors during the in-house meeting, and this is not the first time that they have misbehaved with a female councillor. They are habitual to it.
So we are demanding an apology from the respective councillor inside the house, and if they don’t do so, then we won’t let them run the house.”
Nazia Khatoon, Congress councillor from Brijpuri ward, said, “An AAP councillor had made abusive remarks against me while I put forward the problems of my ward in the house.” She added, “A male councillor from the AAP Party has interrupted me and made abusive remarks during the in-house proceedings. I hear come to my side; your problem gets resolved. We condemn this action of that councillor and demand his suspension.”
Nazia said “We would not tolerate this kind of incident. The mayor should take action against his councillor. but the mayor is not helping us. It seems like she is only a party mayor, not of the entire city of Delhi.”
On the other hand, former mayor and Leader of the Opposition (LOP), Raja Iqbal Singh, said the Congress councillor raised cleanliness issues in her area; in the meantime, the AAP councillor asked her to leave the Congress and sit with them and further abused her. LOP said this abusive incident has exposed the anti-women character of the Aam Adami Party.
The protest went on for nearly two hours. The Mayor and Leader of the House, Mukesh Goel, met the women councillors and assured them that the recording of the House would be checked to identify the accused and action would be taken for the derogatory remarks, an MCD official said.