'Jai Shri Ram', 'Gau Mata ki Jai' slogans echo in Delhi House as councillors, aldermen take oath

Jai Shri Ram, Bharat Mata ki Jai, Inquilab Zindabad were among the slogans chanted by various councillors and nominated members of the MCD House which reconvened on Tuesday to elect Delhi's mayor and deputy mayor.

Slated to begin at 11 am, the proceedings of the House got under way 20 minutes later.

Presiding Officer Satya Sharma administered the oath to the nominated members before the elected representatives of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi as AAP members raised "shame shame" chants in the House.

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AAP councillor Mukesh Goyal also objected to the nominated members being administered their oaths first.

Many of the 10 nominated members raised slogans such as Jai Shri Ram and Bharat Mata ki Jai after taking the path. Sharma then called on the elected councillors to take oath.

Jai Shri Ram and Bharat Mata ki Jai were the slogans largely chanted by councillors, while some let out a cry of Jo Bole So Nihal and Inquilab Zindabad. Jai Bheem slogans were also raised.

This is the second municipal House that has been convened after the December 4 municipal elections.

To avoid the chaos witnessed during the House's first meeting on January 6, there was heavy security deployment inside, including in the Well, and on the premises of the Civic Centre -- the headquarters of the MCD.

AAP mayoral candidate Shelly Oberoi and BJP's candidate for the post Rekha Gupta, and a large number of other councillors have taken oath already, and oath-taking for the remainder of councillors is under way.

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Oberoi was welcomed by her party colleagues with a thumping of the desk as she stepped on the dais, and chanted Jai Hind, Jai Bharat after taking the oath.

Gupta was greeted by BJP members with a ringing chant of Jai Shri Ram as she rose to take oath as a councillor.

One of the elected councillors, by mistake began reading the text of the oath that was administered to nominated members, when an official intervened to fix it.

The nominees for the post of deputy mayor are Aaley Mohammad Iqbal and Jalaj Kumar (AAP) and Kamal Bagri (BJP).

Besides the mayor and the deputy mayor, six members of the MCD's standing committee are also slated to be elected during the municipal House.

Iqbal chanted Hindustan Zindabad after taking oath while fellow party councillor Ankush Narang chanted Wahe Guru ji ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru ji ki Fateh.

While taking the oath, many added names of various deities like 'Lord Ram', 'Lord Krishna', 'Wahe Guru', and also of 'Constitution architect Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar' in the oath-taking text. Some councillors chanted Radhe Radhe, Gau Mata ki Jai and Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan after taking the oath.

Many councillors who chanted Jai Shri Ram on the dais were reciprocated with Jai Shri Ram chants from many members sitting in the House.

Krishan Jakhar after taking oath chanted Bharat Mata ki Jai, Kalka Maiyya ki Jai, Jai Bajrang Bali, and councillor Yogita Singh chanted Kalka Maiyya ki before taking oath and let out a cry of Bharat Mata ki Jai after the oath.

The post of mayor in the national capital sees five single-year terms on a rotation basis, with the first year being reserved for women, second for the open category, third for reserved category, and the remaining two again for the open category.

Delhi will thus get a woman mayor this year.

The voters for the election of the mayor are 250 councillors, seven Lok Sabha and three Rajya Sabha MPs from Delhi and 14 MLAs nominated by the Legislative Assembly.

The Delhi Assembly Speaker has nominated one BJP MLA and 13 AAP MLAs to the MCD

Following the mayoral poll, Delhi will get a mayor for the city as a whole after a 10-year gap.