The MCD House meeting on Thursday witnessed chaotic scenes as Opposition councillors stormed into the well of the House, raising slogans against the AAP-led government demanding discussion on several issues.  Mayor Shelly Oberoi adjourned the meeting within a few minutes of starting stating that the BJP councillors deliberately disrupted to halt the House from beginning its proceedings.

 The councillors demanded the arrest of Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj over the alleged supply of “substandard” drugs in city government hospitals.

The mayor suspended the Leader of Opposition Raja Iqbal Singh for 15 days from the House along with other BJP councillors Ravi Negi, Yogesh Verma and Gajendra Singh for repeatedly trying to halt the House proceedings.  “Due to repeated attempts of causing disruption in the House halting its proceedings, the four members of the House have been suspended for 15 days,” Oberoi told reporters in a press conference.

She added that the suspended councillors will not be allowed to attend the next House meeting if it’s held before their suspension is over.

Responding to the suspension and a bar on his entry in the next House meeting, Raja Iqbal Singh said that the AAP-led government doesn’t want to answer issues concerning public welfare and that he will participate in the next meeting despite the suspension.

“We have been suspended today. The mayor does not want us to raise the voice of the public. For the first time in the history of MCD, this happened. We were not informed about the agenda before the House. The questions we gave were rejected. The mayor even refused to read the condolence motion to me before the House began,” he told reporters.

“We will continue to participate in the next House meeting,” he added.  The House was adjourned amid heavy sloganeering by the BJP and Congress councillors who protested by holding placards with slogans “Saurabh Bharadwaj ko jail bhejo”, “House tax mafi yojna laao”, “kya hua tera wada, pehli tareekh ko salary kaha tha” written on them.

 Amid the ruckus, the mayor gave a green signal to 18 proposals including an item on collection of toll tax and ECC from commercial vehicles entering Delhi.

The House postponed three proposals and referred back to two items that will be reconsidered by the MCD commissioner to be tabled in the next House meeting.

Critcising the functioning of AAP in the MCD, Delhi BJP President Shri Virendra Sachdeva has said that was an autocratic and anarchic party which does not believe in allowing opposition to speak & raise public issues in the Delhi Assembly or Municipal Corporation of Delhi House.

“The Arvind Kejriwal government does not allow Question Hour in Delhi Assembly and now it doesn’t allow opposition to raise any issue in M.C.D. House too. It is surprising that Kejriwal  and his party who cry for their MPs rights in Parliament get all Opposition BJP MLAs suspended from Delhi Assembly when the raised Government’s scams in the House,” he said.