MCD House adjourned without mayor election after AAP-BJP clash

New Delhi: The maiden meeting of the newly elected MCD House was adjourned without electing the mayor and the deputy mayor amid loud protests by AAP councillors over first administering oath to the 10 aldermen.

The MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) House meeting has been adjourned for the day. The next date will be announced later, BJP councillor Satya Sharma, the presiding officer overseeing the process, said.

Chaos ensued during the first meeting as AAP councillors and MLAs raised slogans and entered the Well when Sharma began the process of administering oaths to the 10 aldermen.

The AAP councillors and MLAs protested over the alderman and not the elected representatives being administered oath first.

The BJP councillors retaliated by raising slogans against AAP and its convener Arvind Kejriwal. Amid the chaos, both sides also alleged manhandling by the opposite camp.

The meeting began with Sharma being administered the oath as presiding officer for the elections to the posts of MCD mayor and deputy mayor.

After Sharma invited alderman Manoj Kumar to take oath, AAP MLAs and councillors began to protest. Many also rushed to the well of the House, shouting slogans.

In the melee, the oathtaking was stopped and the meeting disrupted as the AAP councillors stood on the tables, including those of the presiding officer. The BJP councillors also gathered around and exchanged heated words with their AAP counterparts.

"The House was adjourned for one hour. Four aldermen took their oaths. We will resume the meeting soon and the rest of the aldermen will take their oaths first," Sharma told PTI.