Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Aldermen altercation: On the Delhi Mayor poll

Aldermen altercation: On the Delhi Mayor poll

By barring (को छोड़कर) Lieutenant-Governor’s nominees from voting, the Supreme Court of India has scuttled (Destroy) mischief in Delhi

The Supreme Court of India has rightly shot down the brazen (To face a difficult situation with confidence) and legally untenable (असमर्थनीय, अस्थिर) claim that nominated members of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) may be allowed to vote in the election of its Mayor. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sought to bend the rules to allow the 10 aldermen, nominated by the Lieutenant-Governor, to vote in the election, despite the law limiting the process to elected Councillors. That a question concerning a mayoral election should engage national attention is due to the political acrimony (Sharpness or bitterness of nature, words, feelings, etc) between the ruling BJP at the Centre and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which runs the elected regime (शासन, प्रशासन) in the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The BJP sought to interpret (व्याख्या करना, बाषान्तर करना) the relevant (प्रासंगिक) provisions (प्रावधान) in the Constitution and the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act in such a way that the specific bar on nominated members voting in “meetings” of the corporation should not be applied to its first meeting, at which the Mayor and Deputy Mayor are elected. It takes a particularly perverse (विकृत) political imagination to argue that “meetings” do not include the “first meeting”. Three attempts to hold the mayoral election, following the MCD polls that took place in December 2022, were stalled ((of a motor vehicle or its engine) stop running, typically because of an overload on the engine) by clashes between AAP and BJP councillors over this question. The verdict (निर्णय, अधिमत) vindicates (साबित कर देना) the position of AAP, which has 134 councillors in the 250-member Council, against the BJP’s 104.

It is unfortunate that before the Court, the Lt. Governor also took the questionable political stand that the restriction (प्रतिबंध) on the right to vote in Article 243R(2) of the Constitution and the proviso to Section 3(3)(b)(i) of the Act was limited to regular meetings, and not to the first meeting of the Council. The Court rejected the argument, noting that the law provides for the nomination of 10 people “with special knowledge and experience in municipal administration”, but without any voting right. In keeping with the Court’s order, Lt. Governor V.K. Saxena has now approved February 22 as the date for the election of the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and six members of the Standing Committee. Last year, Parliament passed a law to merge the three corporations in Delhi into a single entity, a decision criticised for reversing the trend of having compact local bodies for better delivery of civic services. Delhi’s lack of statehood is a source of conflict between the Centre and the elected regime in the capital territory, but the political protagonists should not allow Delhi’s administrative structures to be plagued by the tussle. The core message from a Constitution Bench judgment of 2018, that elected bodies should not be undermined by unelected administrators, is yet to hit home.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.Altercation (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - विवाद, तकरार
English Meaning - A noisy argument or disagreement, especially in public.

2.Barring (Preposition)

Hindi Meaning - को छोड़कर
English Meaning - Excluding something as an exception.

3.Untenable (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - असमर्थनीय, अस्थिर
English Meaning - Incapable of being defended.

4.Regime (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - शासन, प्रशासन
English Meaning - A system of government.

5.Interpret (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - व्याख्या करना, बाषान्तर करना
English Meaning - To provide an explanation.

6.Relevant (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - प्रासंगिक
English Meaning - Appropriate

7.Provision (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - प्रावधान
English Meaning - The action of providing or supplying something for use.

8.Perverse (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - विकृत
English Meaning - Showing a deliberate desire to behave in a way that is unreasonable.

9.Verdict (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - निर्णय, अधिमत
English Meaning - The finding of a jury on a matter.

10.Vindicate (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - साबित कर देना
English Meaning - Clear (someone) of blame or suspicion.

11.Restriction (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - प्रतिबंध
English Meaning - A limitation on the use of some facilities.

12.Scuttle (Verb)

English Meaning - Destroy

13.Brazen (Verb)

English Meaning - To face a difficult situation with confidence.

14.Acrimony (Noun)

English Meaning - Sharpness or bitterness of nature, words, feelings, etc.

15.Stalled (Verb)

English Meaning - (of a motor vehicle or its engine) stop running, typically because of an overload on the engine.