LIVE: Delhi BJP Demands Fresh Voting in MCD Standing Committee Poll, AAP Alleges 'Goondaism' in House

A fire broke out at a warehouse in south Delhi’s Fatehpur Beri early Thursday morning, officials said. The fire department got a call at 1.15 am informing it there was a fire at a warehouse in Jaunapur, after which it rushed 14 fire tenders to the spot, they said.

The fire was brought under control by around 8 am and no one was injured, they said. According to a senior police officer, the warehouse which caught fire stored colours, toys, idols etc.

The Delhi BJP on Thursday demanded a fresh poll to elect MCD standing committee members, alleging irregularities by the Aam Aadmi Party during the election process last night. Party MP Parvesh Verma told a press conference, also addressed by BJP MP Manoj Tiwari, that newly-elected Mayor Shelly Oberoi of the AAP allowed members to carry mobile phones to the booth area while casting their votes, despite objection by BJP councillors.

Delhi BJP general secretary Harsh Malhotra said the AAP has fielded four candidates and the BJP three for the committee which can have six members.”The AAP is afraid that one of its candidates will face defeat due to lack required number of votes which is why their councilors “started a ruckus” inside the House,” Malhotra charged.

With the participation of over 30 countries and nearly 1,000 publishers and exhibitors, the New Delhi World Book Fair (NDWBF) is returning to its full physical form after a gap of three years, the National Book Trust announced on Thursday. This year’s festival will be inaugurated on February 25 by education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, French ambassador Emmanuel Lenain, and NBT chairman Govind Prasad Sharma, among others.

The last physical edition of the festival was in January 2020 and then the pandemic enforced the book gala to go online. Based on the theme of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, the book fair will host France as the guest country with the participation of 16 French authors, including the Nobel Prize winner Annie Ernaux, and more than 60 publishers, literary agents and cultural representatives.

A 47-year-old man was stabbed to death by unknown people near Azadpur sabzi mandi in northwest Delhi, police said on Thursday. At 3.53 am on Wednesday, Mahendra Park police station received a PCR call regarding a person lying unconscious near the bus stand, they said. The victim was taken to a hospital where he was declared brought dead. He had sustained a stab injury on his chest, a senior police officer said.

The Delhi BJP staged a massive demonstration near the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) headquarters on DDU Marg here on Thursday, demanding the sacking of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia from his post over the alleged “snooping scandal” involving the Feedback Unit (FBU) of the Kejriwal government. The Centre has cleared the way for registration of a case against Sisodia by giving sanction for prosecution to the CBI over the alleged illegal collection of “political intelligence” through a Delhi government department.

The Delhi BJP on Thursday demanded fresh voting for elections of the MCD standing committee members alleging irregularities by the AAP. In a joint press conference, party MP Parvesh Verma claimed that despite objection of BJP councillors, newly-elected Mayor Shelly Oberoi of the AAP allowed members to carry mobile phones to the booth area during the voting.

The national capital witnessed record fog this season with 102 hours of dense fog starting in November 2022. This is reportedly the most intense fog spell Delhi has witnessed in the past six years, according to the India Meteorological Department. READ

Passengers on the Delhi-Raipur flight that was carrying several Congress leaders to the Chhattisgarh capital were asked to deboard by the Indigo staff on Thursday, with the airline saying they will be put on another flight. This came after the Congress claimed its leader Pawan Khera was deplaned from the flight to Raipur, where he was going to attend the party’s plenary session.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday questioned Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s PA Bibhav Kumar in the money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy, officials said. Kumar deposed before the federal probe agency here and the investigators are recording his statement under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

With the MCD House being adjourned for the day on Thursday amid ruckus over the standing committee election, the AAP accused the BJP of resorting to “hooliganism” as it was unable to digest its defeat in the MCD mayoral polls. Several members of both the parties exchanged blows and hurled plastic bottles at each other in the chamber of the MCD House on Wednesday night. The chaos continued on Thursday morning forcing Mayor Shelly Oberoi to adjourn the House till 10 am on Friday.

Addressing a press conference at the civic centre, Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi alleged that ballot papers were torn by the BJP councillors during the election. “It’s shameful what the BJP councillors did. The ballot box was thrown and ballot papers were torn and I was attacked,” she alleged. “The BJP resorted to unconstitutional behaviour in the House once again. BJP’s Rekha Gupta and Amit Nagpal resorted to hooliganism in the House and we will take action against them,” she said.

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday summoned Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s close aide named Bibhav Kumar, for questioning in the Delhi excise policy case. He has reached ED headquarters and questioning will being soon.

The MCD House was adjourned for the day on Thursday as ruckus and sloganeering continued over the election of six members of the standing committee. While the BJP is protesting against Mayor Shelly Oberoi’s decision to allow members to carry mobile phones to the booth area during the election of the MCD panel, the AAP accused the saffron party of resorting to “hooliganism” because of its defeat in the mayoral polls.

The election to pick the six members of the standing committee of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi on Wednesday got stalled due to an uproar in the House, hours after the new mayor was elected. The House proceedings began around 11:30 am and business was conducted smoothly as AAP’s Shelly Oberoi emerged victorious in the mayoral poll, defeating BJP’s Rekha Gupta by a margin of 34 votes.