New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said that the article 243R of the Constitution debars nominated members from voting in the MCD House and attempting to get them to do so is unconstitutional.

MCD house was adjourned over administering of oath to the 10 aldermen ‘nominated members’

His comment came a few hours after the MCD house was adjourned over administering of oath to the 10 aldermen ‘nominated members’ a move that the Aam Aadmi Party has alleged was an underhanded ploy to get them to vote for the election of mayor and deputy mayor in the house.

Kejriwal also wrote a letter to the Lieutenant Governor (LG) VK Saxena mentioning several other incidents which according to him were attempts to bypass the MCD rules. The nomination of 10 aldermen to the MCD, dictating names of the Haj Committee by allegedly bypassing the Delhi government, and not nominating the senior-most person as the presiding officer, were some such instances he cited in the letter.

“Officers in the administration would have refused to follow bizarre directions by the LG. They have been protesting privately and in a muted voice. “They are scared of consequences if they do not follow the directions. Some also faced wrath in the past. Control over bureaucracy through ‘services’ is being misused,” he wrote.