AAP, BJP councillors put nation to shame

Punches, kicks exchanged, clothes torn, hair pulled... as fi ght breaks out in Delhi civic body

NT Correspondent

New Delhi: They would have put any trained boxer to shame considering the manner in which Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and BJP councillors slugged it out on Friday inside the national capital’s civic body, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) after the Mayor declared one vote invalid in the election to six members of a key municipal committee.

Soon after the Mayor's action, the BJP interrupted the counting of votes but the Mayor insisted the result will be declared without the invalid vote following which all chaos broke out. Councillors from both sides punched, kicked, slapped and pushed one another amid shouting with kurtas getting torn in the melee and one corporator Ashok Manu, who collapsed, being rushed to a nearby hospital.

"In the house of the MCD, the BJP has shown to the country that it's a party of goons. When BJP knew it was losing by a vote, they started attacking people. The first woman Mayor in Delhi had to defend herself to save her life," AAP MLA Atishi told reporters. "One side is ready for recounting, while the other is not. That is why I'm not recounting. The result is being declared without the invalid vote," said Mayor Shelly Obero.