'You are liars, don't understand law': Congress' Sandeep Dikshit blasts AAP after SC verdict in MCD case

Hours after the Supreme Court upheld the Delhi LG's power to appoint aldermen to MCD, Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit launched a scathing attack on the Aam Aadmi Party, saying the ruling party has lied for 8-9 years. "When the Supreme Court looked at the law, it made it clear that this right (to appoint aldermen) is with the LG. You (Aam Aadmi Party) have always said that the LG has encroached upon your rights. This means that either you did not look at the law or you are illiterate, or you deliberately broke the law when you sent the names for the aldermen," the Congress leader said while speaking to ANI.

"So it is proved that you are liars, you do not understand the law and you play political games with the legal system. Till date, it has not been proved that the AAP, elected on the basis of truth, honesty, and morality, has done any work without corruption, without lying. Unfortunately, the party that emerged out of a movement, in my opinion, has been a misfortune for Delhi and the country," he added.

Earlier today, the top court ruled that Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena can appoint aldermen to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) without the consent of the AAP-led government. The court said that the L-G has the power to nominate members to the MCD without aid and advice from the AAP cabinet.

The matter was heard by a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice PS Narasimha. The court explained that the power came from the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act.

"It is incorrect to suggest that power in Delhi Lt Governor was a semantic lottery. It is the law made by the parliament, it satisfies the discretion exercised by Lt Governor since the law requires him to do so and falls under exception of article 239. It was 1993 MCD Act which first vested the power to nominate on Lt Governor and is not a relic of the past," the court said.

The Delhi government headed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had challenged the Lieutenant Governor's decision to nominate aldermen in the MCD without the aid and advice of the council of ministers. A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha, JB Pardiwala had reserved its verdict in the matter on May 17, last year.

The MCD has 250 elected and 10 nominated members. In December 2022, the AAP defeated the BJP in the civic elections, winning 134 wards and ending the saffron party's 15-year run at the helm of the MCD. The BJP won 104 seats and the Congress finished a distant third with nine.

Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the Delhi government, had contended that no separate powers had been accorded to the state government to nominate people to the MCD, and for the past 30 years, the practice of the LG nominating aldermen on the aid and advice of the city government has been followed.

Then Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain, appearing for the LG's office, had submitted that just because a practice has been followed for 30 years does not mean it is correct. The bench had observed that giving the LG the power to nominate aldermen would effectively mean that he could destabilise a democratically-elected MCD because these aldermen get appointed to the standing committees and have voting power.