The cold wave condition over the national capital is likely to evade over the weekend with an increase in temperature. On Saturday, the maximum temperature is likely to settle at around 18 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature could be around 5 degrees Celsius. Moderate to dense fog is likely to persist on Saturday, dense fog and cold wave conditions are likely to abate next week.
Noida police and students together have started crowdfunding for the treatment of 20-year-old Sweety Kumari, who went into coma after being hit by a vehicle from behind as she and her friends were making their way back to her house. So far, Noida Police commissioner Laxmi Singh has donated Rs 1 lakh and her team Rs 10 lakh, or a day’s salary and the Greater Noida Institute of Technology has donated Rs 1 lakh.
Onto an update on the Anjali Singh hit-and-run case. The Delhi police Friday made the sixth arrest in the case, taking in Ashutosh, the brother-in-law of the owner of the offending vehicle, for allegedly lying about the driver of the car and covering up the crime. Earlier, Express had reported that a police investigation found that Deepak Khanna, who was accused of driving the car was not inside the vehicle at the time of the accident, and had lied to the police because he was the only one with a driving license.
Man accused of driving car that killed Anjali Singh was at home during accident, finds probe
The man who is accused of driving the car that dragged 20-year-old Anjali Singh to her death was not inside the vehicle at the time of the accident in Kanjhawala, Outer Delhi, on Sunday morning, police investigation has found. The accused, Deepak Khanna, was asked by his cousins and friends to tell police he was with them at the time, since he is the only person with a driving licence, police said.
During investigation, police found that Deepak’s phone location from the time did not match with that of the other four accused in the case. His phone location and call records showed he was at home all day, said police. The 26-year-old is a Gramin Sewa driver and was among the five arrested by the police. (Read more)
Mayors, councillors, municipal commissioners and other city officials will get B-school training at the Indian Institute of Management-Indore, where a centre of excellence focussing on water, sanitation, hygiene and waste management is likely to start in March.
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The centre, which is funded by the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry’s Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0, is likely to take in its first batch of officials and political office-bearers from urban local bodies (ULBs) in March, IIM-Indore Director professor Himanshu Rai told The Indian Express. Read more
On November 26, an inebriated male passenger exposed himself and urinated on a 70-year-old woman on an Air India flight between New York and Mumbai. The obnoxious act occurred in the carrier’s business class and the man was let go without any repercussions. The matter came to light only a month later when the media picked it up.
There has been much outrage, and understandably so, regarding Air India’s inaction and the flight crew’s apathy. However, a larger question begs to be answered: Just why do Indians make such lousy co-passengers? While what happened on the Air India flight is an extreme case, uncouth inconsideration among travellers is as common as potholes on Indian streets. And like potholes, such incivility has ruined many a happy day. Arjun Sengupta writes
Ankush Khanna, brother of accused Amit Khanna in the death of Anjali Singh in the Sultanpuri hit-and-run case, who allegedly lied about the driver's identity, has been granted bail by a Delhi court with a bail bond of Rs. 20,000 on Saturday. Khanna was booked under IPC sections pertaining to harboring an offender and the disappearance of evidence. He had surrendered to the police on Friday evening.
Water supply in the city will remain affected due to a breach in the NCR water channel supplying raw water to water treatment plants in Gurgaon, said officials of Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority on Friday. The authority requested the people to use water judiciously, adding that water supply is expected to be restored within 36 hours.
GMDA officials said the irrigation NCR channel, through which raw water is supplied to the water treatment plants at Chandu Budhera and Basai in the city had been breached. Read more
Observing that it will go by law and not public pressure, a Delhi court on Saturday sent Shankar Mishra, the Air India passenger accused of urinating on a woman during a flight, to 14 days in judicial custody. Metropolitan Magistrate Anamika at Patiala House Court rejected a three-day police custody application moved by the police, saying police custody was not a punishment.
“Just because of public pressure, don’t do this. We will go by the law…This is the stage of remand. He has joined investigation. Let facts come on record…police custody is not a punishment. There is a reason for police custody,” the court said. Read more
Three Air India crew members on Saturday joined the investigation at the Indira Gandhi International Airport police station here in connection with the onboard urination case, officials said. A senior police officer said nine crew members were called, out of whom three recorded their statements on Saturday morning.
Their statements will help police to establish the sequence of the alleged event that took place on the flight last November, official said. They were called on Friday, but as they were not available in the city, police asked them to join the probe on Saturday. (PTI)
Delhi Police Saturday arrested Shankar Mishra, 34, who allegedly urinated on a co-passenger in an inebriated condition onboard an Air India flight. Mishra, who was arrested from Bengaluru and brought to Delhi, was on an Air India flight from New York to New Delhi last November when the alleged incident occurred.
Mishra, an employee of US financial services giant Wells Fargo, was sacked Friday in light of the incident. The company, announcing his termination through a statement, said it holds its employees to the highest standards of professional and personal behaviour and “we find these allegations deeply disturbing”. Read more
Denying sending Shankar Mishra, accused of urinating on female passenger in an Air India flight from New York to Delhi last November, to police custody, a Delhi court asked the police, "What is ground for police custody? Just because there's public pressure, don't do this. Go by law"
A Delhi Patiala House Court on Saturday sent Shankar Mishra, accused of urinating on a female passenger in an Air India flight, to judicial custody for 14 days.
The Delhi Police has sought 3-day custody of Shankar Mishra, who is accused of urinating on a co-passenger on an Air India flight last November
Shankar Mishra, who is accused of urinating on a female passenger on an Air India flight last November, was produced before the Metropolitan Magistrate Anamika at Patiala House court in New Delhi on Saturday.
Delhi Police Saturday arrested Shankar Mishra, 34, who allegedly urinated on a co-passenger in an inebriated condition onboard an Air India flight. Mishra, who was arrested from Bengaluru and brought to Delhi, was on an Air India flight from New York to New Delhi last November when the alleged incident occurred.
Mishra, an employee of US financial services giant Wells Fargo, was sacked Friday in light of the incident. The company, announcing his termination through a statement, said it holds its employees to the highest standards of professional and personal behaviour and “we find these allegations deeply disturbing”. Read more
A man was arrested and two juveniles were apprehended on Friday for allegedly stabbing a 15-year-old boy to death after a scuffle over not being given enough space to sit around a fire, in a West Delhi locality, police officials said. Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Ghanshyam Bansal said that they received a PCR call on Friday regarding the stabbing incident, following which a police team was sent to the spot and the boy was found lying in a pool of blood.
The identity of the victim was established and it was revealed that he had a rivalry with a man who stayed in the same locality. Read more
The Gautam Buddh Nagar police have arrested a man for his alleged involvement in the death of Swiggy delivery executive Kaushal Yadav, 24, late on New Year’s Day, officers said.
The accused has been identified as one Amar Bahadur Yadav. According to the police, a vehicle rammed into Yadav’s bike near Sector 14 A, killing him. While initial reports and allegations by his family members indicated that he had been dragged several hundred metres, the police said CCTV footage did not indicate so. Read more
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillors, who began their protest outside Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena’s house on Saturday, dispersed off after the protest.
Shankar Mishra, the Air India passenger accused of urinating on a woman during a flight, is expected to be produced today before a Delhi court following his arrest by Delhi Police from Bangalore.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillors began their protest outside Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena’s office accusing him of an assault on the Constitution through the decisions taken against existing civic procedural rules and regulations. The AAP had cried foul over Saxena’s decision to nominate 10 BJP members as aldermen.
Soon after, a contingent including BJP MPs, MLAs, and councillors will stage a sit-in protest near Raj Ghat against the “assault on the Constitution” underlined by the “hooliganism” of AAP councillors in the House.
With dense fog and a cold wave, the minimum temperature at Delhi’s Safdarjung weather station, the city’s base station, dipped to 2.2 degrees Celsius, the lowest for the winter so far. Delhi also saw dense fog in the early hours with visibility remaining low even at around 8.30 am.
Over the past 10 years, Safdarjung has recorded a colder night in January only twice before – in 2021 when the minimum temperature was 1.1 degrees Celsius and in 2013 when the lowest minimum temperature in January was 1.9 degrees Celsius. Both instances were in the first week of January, data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) shows. Read more.
The Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed a woman’s plea seeking directions to the government of Pakistan to produce her daughter in India, claiming that after she and her son were kidnapped from Assam, they were allegedly detained while they were crossing into Pakistan from Afghanistan.
Dismissing the plea, a division bench of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Talwant Singh said, “We decline to exercise jurisdiction in the present writ petition and dismiss the same with liberty to the petitioner (woman) to initiate appropriate proceedings in accordance with law before the Guwahati High Court which admittedly has territorial jurisdiction over the instant matter.” Read more.
The Ghaziabad police have arrested six men for their alleged role in the murder of two cousins, whose bodies were found in Teela Mod area. The faces of the victims also appeared to have been burned, possibly by a corrosive substance. The accused were identified as Sanjeev, Janak Singh, Pintu, Anuj, Virendra, and Sukhbir.
DCP (Trans Hindon) Deeksha Sharma said, “On January 4, two bodies were found within the jurisdiction of Teela Mod police station. They were identified by their family as Durgesh and Gaurav Kasana. Five teams were deployed to technically investigate the matter along with ground intelligence. On January 6, the accused were arrested…. one more is absconding.” Read more.
The Delhi High Court recently held that although criminal courts are duty-bound to consider the rights of the victim, they cannot at the same time overlook or brush aside the rights of an accused or a convict. The observation was made in a plea moved by three convicts who were awaiting punishment verdict in a kidnapping case, challenging the long date given by the trial court to decide the same.
A single judge bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma in its January 5 decision held that “a person who gets convicted has a statutory right to challenge the conviction in a higher court as well as seek suspension of sentence. However, such statutory right can only be exercised once the order on sentence is also pronounced by the court concerned, as sentence is a part of the judgment in a trial”. Read more.
A day after the councillors of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to blows inside the House of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) during the Delhi mayoral polls, they will take to the streets on Saturday decrying an assault on the Constitution.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillors are scheduled to stage a sit-in at 11 am outside Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena’s office accusing him of an assault on the Constitution through the decisions taken against existing civic procedural rules and regulations. The AAP had cried foul over Saxena’s decision to nominate 10 BJP members as aldermen. Read more.
Water supply in the city will remain affected due to a breach in the NCR water channel supplying raw water to water treatment plants in Gurgaon, said officials of Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority on Friday. The authority requested the people to use water judiciously, adding that water supply is expected to be restored within 36 hours.
GMDA officials said the irrigation NCR channel, through which raw water is supplied to the water treatment plants at Chandu Budhera and Basai in the city had been breached. Read more.
Around 34 domestic departure flights from Delhi airport was delayed on Saturday morning due to bad weather and other related issues. Over 12 arrival flights were delayed at the airport from different destinations.
Here is a look at the drop in visibility at the IGI Airport, Palam, in the early hours of Saturday.
The Gautam Buddh Nagar police have arrested a worker of the Ghaziabad BJP’s youth wing, allegedly after he misbehaved with police officers under the influence of alcohol. The worker in question was identified as one Rahul Bhati.
Issuing a statement regarding the incident, DCP (Greater Noida) Abhishek Verma said, “Checking was going on during the intervening night of 4th and 5th January in the jurisdiction of Dankaur police station. A Swift vehicle driven by one Rahul Bhati was stopped. He was in a state of intoxication, and a black film and siren/hooter was also attached. He also misbehaved with the police.” Read more.
“For the past four years I have been performing at Connaught Place, there have been several instances when police asked me to leave. I would never argue and always leave,” said Anshul Riaji (27), a street musician who was directed by a Delhi Police officer last week to vacate the spot which he was “illegally occupying”.
The incident took place on December 30 and went viral on social media two days ago. Riaji was performing at CP’s F Block when a police officer asked him to stop playing as a large crowd watched the confrontation between him and the officer. Read more.
While Delhi experienced cold wave conditions on Friday as well, these conditions are likely to abate over the weekend with an increase in temperatures.
The minimum temperature in parts of Delhi dipped below 3 degrees early on Friday. At the Aya Nagar weather observatory in South Delhi, the minimum temperature early on Friday was 1.8 degrees Celsius, five degrees below the normal. The Safdarjung weather station, which serves as a marker for the city, recorded a minimum temperature of 4 degrees Celsius, three notches below the normal. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) records a cold wave when the minimum temperature is 4 degrees or less. Read more
Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena on Friday announced the members of the Delhi Haj Committee that included a Congress councillor, evoking sharp reaction from AAP which alleged a nexus between BJP and Congress ahead of the mayoral election of the MCD. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal termed the notification "illegal" and said neither government was consulted nor a proper process was followed.
The Haj Committee members include BJP MP Gautam Gambhir, two Aam Aadmi Party MLAs - Abdul Rehman and Haji Yunus, Congress councillor Naziya Danish, Muslim theology expert Mohammad Saad and Kausar Jahan as a member from Muslim voluntary organisations. (PTI)
A man has been arrested and two juveniles have been apprehended in connection with the killing of a 15-year-old boy who was allegedly stabbed to death following a minor argument in west Delhi's Khyala area, police said on Friday. After being informed about the incident, a police team reached the spot and found the boy lying dead in pool of blood at HMP Park. The victim had multiple stab injuries on his body.
The victim was a resident of Raghubir Nagar at Khyala, police said, adding that he was killed following a minor argument with Sumit, who also lives in the same area. (PTI)
Amid a sudden spike in air pollution due to foggy weather, the Centre's air quality panel on Friday directed implementation of curbs under stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in Delhi-NCR, including a ban on non-essential construction and demolition work. Delhi's 24-hour average air quality index stood at 400 on Friday, just a notch below the severe category.
The Sub-Committee on GRAP, at a review meeting, noted that the AQI is likely to worsen further in the coming days due to unfavourable weather conditions. It directed authorities in Delhi-NCR to invoke curbs under stage III of the anti-pollution plan with immediate effect. If the AQI is projected to reach the severe category, restrictive actions under Stage III are to be invoked at least three days in advance, according to GRAP. (PTI)
The Delhi High Court on Friday sought a status report from the Delhi government on the formulation of standard operating procedures (SOP) on DNA testing for the identification of bodies. A single-judge bench of Justice Prathiba Singh was hearing the plea of a man whose brother went missing during the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots and who moved the court seeking directions to the authorities to carry out DNA matching for the identification of a body found on the night of February 27, 2020.
In March 2020, the court directed that “DNA matching of the body in question shall be undertaken on an urgent basis; and be completed at the earliest but not later than 31.03.2020” and that the report shall be communicated to the petitioner, Matbul Alam, within 24 hours of being prepared. Read more
A Delhi court Friday sent Ashutosh Bhardwaj, the brother-in-law of the owner of the car that dragged 20-year-old Anjali Singh to death in Kanjhawala on New Year’s eve, to four-day police custody. Metropolitan Magistrate Sanya Dalal sent Bhardwaj to four days of custody following police allegations that he gave a false statement to police about the identity of the driver. Bhardwaj was arrested on Friday following this, police said.
The police investigation has found that Deepak Khanna was asked by his cousins and friends to tell police that he was with them at the time of the accident as he was the only person with a driving licence, police had said earlier. Police had found that Deepak’s phone location and call records showed he was at home all day. Read more
Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez appeared before a Delhi court Friday in connection to Rs 200 crore money laundering case involving alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar, news agency PTI reported. Special judge Shailendra Malik was hearing arguments on the issue of framing of charges in the matter.
During the hearing, PTI reported that the counsel appearing for Chandrashekhar asked the ED why he was being called "historysheeter" while he has not been convicted in any case yet. "I have never been convicted in any case, yet the ED says I am a historysheeter, part of organised crime... How can that be said," the counsel submitted before the court.
The Delhi High Court Friday refused to grant protection to former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer Sameer Wankhede from search, seizure, or arrest claiming that an NCB official had allegedly “intimated the CBI” alleging disproportionate assets acquired by Wankhede.
A single judge bench of Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani observed that there was no document on record produced by Wankhede, a 2008 batch Indian Revenue Service officer, which was the basis of the plea before the High Court. Read more
The Enforcement Directorate filed its second chargesheet in connection with the Delhi Liquor excise policy case on Friday, news agency ANI reported. There are names of 12 accused mentioned in the chargesheet, out of which five have been arrested (Vijay Nair, Sharath Reddy, Binoy Babu, Abhishek Boinpally, Amit Arora) and seven companies. (ANI)
The Delhi High Court Thursday asked the Lokpal of India to inform the court whether the anti-corruption body can issue an inquiry against officials of a corporation –which is partly financed by a state government, without first seeking consent from the said state government.
The legal issue arose while the HC was hearing a plea moved by certain officials of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi who have challenged a Lokpal order for a CBI investigation against them based on a complaint by Vikram Singh Saini – a former general secretary of Samajwadi Yuvjan Sabha – before the body alleging illegal and unauthorised constructions in South Delhi. Read more
A Delhi court in Saket on Friday extended the judicial custody of Aaftab Poonawala, accused of murdering his live-in girlfriend Shraddha Walkar by four days. The court has asked the Delhi police to produce Poonawala physically to the court on January 10, news agency ANI reported.
Senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi is stable and recovering, said officials at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi where she has been admitted since Wednesday afternoon. “Mrs Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson UPA, who is admitted at Sir Gangaram Hospital for a viral respiratory infection is stable and is making a gradual recovery,” said Dr Ajay Swaroop, chairman (board of management) at the hospital, on Friday. Read more
After AAP and BJP Councillors clashed during the Delhi Mayoral polls on Friday, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said, "Today's episode inside the house was a complete conspiracy...several AAP's Gunda leaders, councillors and MLA's were drunk, they were carrying a blade, sharp glass to attack the BJP."
Tiwari said that AAP MLA's intention was clear to create a ruckus and disrupt the session. Tiwari said, "Even the MLA's intention was clear that they wanted to create a ruckus and disrupt the session. In the last three days, we were busy in training our councillors how to vote but it looks like AAP gave its councillor training on how to attack the BJP councillors with a blade. They attacked our councillors and I can see Tahir Hussain's character and shadow in many of AAP's councillors today".
In other news, the woman who complained about a male co-passenger urinating on her during an Air India flight in November had informed the crew that she did not want to see his face and was “stunned” when the offender was brought before her and “started crying and profusely apologising”. According to the Delhi Police’s FIR against the accused, he also begged her to not lodge a complaint, saying he was a family man and did not wish his wife and child to be affected by the incident.
The victim alleged that despite her unwillingness, she was forced to confront the accused and negotiate with him, further disorienting her, according to the FIR registered on Wednesday based on the victim’s complaint to Air India. Read more here
After a clash broke out between AAP and BJP Councillors over the presiding officer's decision to administer the oath to the 10 aldermen first in the House Friday, AAP MLA Atishi said, "BJP's Gunda councillors attacked our councillors even woman councillors Mohini Jamwal. Our councillors have been taken to LNJP hospital. We have filed a complaint and are also going to file an FIR against BJP councillors."
Atishi said that in order to please the BJP and "it's top guns", the L-G was violating the Constitution by trying to give voting power to Alderman. "There are no such rules in the constitution that show that LG has the power to nominate councillors and take decisions but they have broken all the rules and guidelines and took decisions in an unconstitutional manner from the beginning," she said. (Gayathri Mani reports)
On January 4, Delhi’s Lt. Governor, VK Saxena, nominated 10 aldermen amidst significant controversy. The 10 nominees, all BJP members, are expected to play a crucial role in determining who controls the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
In the recent municipal corporation elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) beat the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by a slender margin, and mayor elections are due on Friday (January 6). Although they do not have the right to vote in the mayor polls, aldermen hold significant power and play an important role in the elections of Standing Committees, MCD in-house and ward committee meetings. They are a part of a group which effectively controls the MCD’s purse strings. We explain here
After Councillors of the Aam Aadmi Party and the BJP Friday came to blows inside the House during the Delhi mayoral polls, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said it was CM Arvind Kejriwal, "... as AAP leader who instigated his Councilors to create ruckus in MCD".
Kapoor said that nobody was trying to make Aldermen vote in House, "but that doesn't mean they can't be sworn in. After all the Aldermen can vote in Zone Committees".
Delhi state BJP president Virendra Sachdeva is heading to the RML government hospital in New Delhi to get the Medico-legal case (MLCs) done for his party councillors, who allegedly got injured during the clashes in the House.
Article 243R of the Constitution deals with the Composition of Municipalities and states: (1) Save as provided in clause (2), all the seats in a Municipality shall be filled by persons chosen by direct election from the territorial constituencies in the Municipal area and for this purpose, each Municipal area shall be divided into territorial constituencies to be known as wards.
It goes on to state: in clause (2) that the Legislature of a State may, by law, provide-
(a) for the representation in a Municipality of-
(i) persons having special knowledge or experience in Municipal administration;
(ii) the members of the House of the People and the members of the Legislative Assembly of the State representing constituencies which comprise wholly or partly the Municipal area;
(iii) the members of the Council of States and the members of the Legislative Council of the State registered as electors within the Municipal area;
(iv) the Chairpersons of the Committees constituted under clause (5) of article 243S: Provided that the persons referred to in paragraph (i) shall not have the right to vote in the meetings of the Municipality;
(b) the manner of election of the Chairperson of a Municipality.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, reacting to the events in the MCD House Friday, said on Twitter that the Article 243R of the Constitution clearly debars nominated members from voting in the House, and the attempt to get them to vote in the House is unconstitutional.
Presiding Officer Satya Sharma said that the next date for resuming the House will be decided by the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi.
"Four aldermen who took oath have been nominated and have become the nominated councillors. The House has been adjourned until further notification," Sharma said.
"MCD commissioner Gyanesh Bharti and municipal secretary Bhagwan Singh have informed the L-G's office about today's incident and the happenings inside the House. The next date for resuming the House will now be decided by the L-G," Sharma added.
Meanwhile, in Haryana, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar is inaugurating several infrastructure projects across the state.
Speaking from Gurgaon, Khattar said: “There was a time…when a former Prime Minister…I am talking of the time of Congress in 1990-91. He used to say ‘hum upar se 1 rupaiyaa bhejte hein, neeche aate aate 15 paise reh jaate hein, 85 paise gayab ho jaate hein’. I am not talking about politics, but there was a fault in the system which was noticed at the time. We used to ask that upar bhi sarkar aapki hai, neeche bhi sarkar apki hai, btaaiye toh sahi ye 85 paise jaate kahan hai? To stop this corruption, we have made such efforts that now if we send a rupee, then not even 99 paise but the full one rupee reaches to the lower department, there are no leakages in the middle now, everything is done through an online portal.”
Accusing previous governments in the State of working only for their specific regions, Khattar added: "There should be no discrimination. Saara kaam Haryana ka ek saath hona chahiye. There have been governments in the past which gave importance to their specific regions...(pehle alag sarkaren mehatv deti thii apne apne ilaakon ko)."
(Pavneet Singh Chadha reports)
The House has been adjourned till the next notification.
AAP councillors leave the House raising slogans like "Inquilab Zindabad", "Vande Matram" and "Kejriwal Zindabaad" while the BJP councillors raise the slogan "Jai Shree Ram, Jai Shree Ram".
Contending allegations made by the AAP and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal regarding the nomination of aldermen, sources at Delhi Lt Governor House said these were as per factual, legal and constitutional provisions in this regard.
“The LG, who is the “Administrator” has nominated 10 persons in pursuance of the Powers vested in him vide Section 3(3)(b)(i) of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act (DMC Act) 1957,” Raj Niwas sources sought to clarify.
Section 3(3)(b)(i) of the DMC Act 1957, provides that “10 persons who are not less than 25 years of age and who have special knowledge or experience in Municipal Administration, to be nominated by the Administrator.”
“That the ‘Administrator” is the Lieutenant Governor is unequivocally provided for vide Section 2(1) of the MCD Act, 1957. Section 2(1) of the DMC Act, 1957, reads that the ‘Administrator’ means the Lt. Governor of the National Capital Territory of Delhi,” sources said.
AAP councillor Praveen Kumar accused the BJP members of attacking him and tearing his shirt.
"When I objected that alderman cannot take the oath first, the BJP councillors pushed me and attacked me and tore my shirt... Mere kapde faade diya, mujhe jaan leva maarne ki koshish ki..." he said.
Councillors of AAP and BJP shout slogans during elections to the coveted posts of Delhi Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Standing Committee members at Civic Centre in New Delhi on Jan. 6, 2023.
A scuffle has broken out between AAP and BJP councillors inside the House. Both party councillors indulge in a physical confrontation, and push and hit each other.
Delhi mayoral polls presiding officer Satya Sharma said that the House has been adjourned for one hour. She added that four aldermen have taken the oath.
The House will be resumed soon and the alderman will take the oath first, Sharma said.
BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor alleged that BJP’s women councillors were misbehaved with during the ruckus prior to the Delhi mayoral polls.
"The AAP has once again exposed its anarchic face with the ruckus in the MCD meeting. The BJP’s women councillors were misbehaved with. Arvind Kejriwal got all this done intentionally fearing defeat in the Mayoral and other polls," said Kapoor.
(Express's Jatin Anand reports)
BJP MP Manoj Tiwari told The Indian Express that AAP councillors have begun hooliganism as soon as their numbers increased in MCD polls.
"As soon as their number increased from 49 to 134, AAP councillors have begun hooliganism…pushing and shoving, physical confrontations, not adhering to the law... this is the truth of this goonda party. When [Arvind] Kejriwal himself threatens and gets officers and leaders beaten up after calling them home, what else can be expected of his disciples," he said.
(Express's Jatin Anand reports)
AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj claimed that the BJP attacked AAP leaders, tearing councillor Praveen Kumar's shirt and injuring his thumb.
'Nominated councillors can never vote in the Mayoral polls. They are restricted from participating in the polls. But BJP is trying to swoop in the nominated councillors in the Mayor elections which is illegal and unconstitutional. When our elected councilor opposed it, they tried to kill our leader and attacked him. Hum congress party nahi hai, hum aam aadmi party hai, hume lohe ka jawab lohe se dena aata hai,' he said.
'Fearing loss, BJP has stooped to a low level and is doing hooliganism and gundagardi... They tried to attack our leader and physically attacked our elected councillor Praveen Kumar, tore his shirt and broke his thumb. BJP Nigam chunav mai khooni khel khel rahi hai,' he added. (Express's Gayathri Mani reports)