Delhi govt again proposes Mukesh Goel's name to L-G for presiding officer at MCD meeting

New Delhi [India], April 20 : Months after Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena turned down the Kejriwal government's request to appoint Aam Aadmi Party councillor Mukesh Goel as presiding officer of a Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) meeting to conduct Mayoral polls, the ruling party once again proposed the name of the seniormost councillor for the post.
The recent proposal of the Delhi government, seeking the L-G's nod for Mukesh Goel as the presiding officer came in view of the fresh upcoming Mayoral elections on April 26.
The L-G in January this year had nominated BJP councillor Satya Sharma as the protem presiding officer of an MCD meeting, among the list of six names sent to him by the AAP government. The other names on the list were Mukesh Goel, Preeti, Shakeela Begum, Hemchand Goel and Neema Bhagat.
The AAP had raised questions on the development, alleging that presiding officer Satya Sharma, who was nominated by the L-G, unconstitutionally allowed the aldermen to vote in the process of electing the mayor in the maiden meeting of the House, which led to three stormy sessions of the MCD.
However, according to Raj Niwas, Mukesh Goel, a five-time councillor, was eliminated because of an investigation into a charge against him of "seeking Rs 1 crore for a party ticket in the recently-concluded MCD election".
Responding to the fresh proposal sent to the L-G, Urban Development Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj said the government was looking the former to take a decision in accordance with the custom and rules this time around.
"The presiding officers only have to elect the mayor and the rest of the elections are done by the elected mayor. Last time, we sent the name of our seniormost councillor as the presiding officer to the L-G. This is the practice of electing the presiding officer in all the Houses, be it the Parliament or a state legislature. But the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi went against the time-honoured custom and named Satya Sharma as the presiding officer," Bhardwaj told ANI.
He had earlier alleged that Satya Sharma unconstitutionally gave voting rights to Aldermen.
"We moved the Supreme Court against this and the court, too, said that this is wrong. Because of the presiding officer, the House was adjourned several times, slogans were raised and scuffles followed," he said.
The minister said the L-G should abide by the rules and tradition.
"The L-G should respect the custom and tradition and decide accordingly. The law of the land and the Constitution say that the L-G is bound by the recommendation of the Delhi government. If he does not accept the recommendation, he can send it to the President. But he will have to accept the recommendation," he said.
The senior AAP leader claimed further that the earlier reasons cited by L-G Saxena do not fulfil grounds to disqualify someone from the presiding officer's post.
"Last time, he (L-G) said there is a case against the person whose name was proposed by the Delhi government. The L-G said he had asked for a bribe of Rs 1 crore in exchange for allotting a ticket for contesting elections. However, this charge is baseless as there is no FIR against Mukesh Goel (whose name the AAP proposed) as yet. Even if it were so, it is not a ground to disqualify someone for the post of the presiding officer," he said.
"There are cases against the Speaker of Delhi Legislative Assembly and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. We have seen in Om Birla's election affidavit that FIR was registered against him, but he remains the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. The Lieutenant Governor is setting the wrong precedent," he said.
"Today, we have proposed Mukesh Goel again as he is the seniormost councillor of the House. We would like the L-G to take a decision in accordance with tradition and rules," he added.