Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee chief J P Aggarwal today met party President Sonia Gandhi.
Several Congressmen, who were recently appointed as Aldermen to the MCD, also accompanied Ms. Dikshit and Mr. Aggarwal to the meeting with Ms. Gandhi.
Asked about the meeting, Mr. Aggarwal said it was a courtesy call as the newly appointed Aldermen had wanted to seek blessings of the party chief.
Delhi Lt Governor Tejinder Khanna last month had appointed 10 persons, most of whom are Congress workers, as Aldermen to the MCD.
An Alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council who is not elected by popular vote. Under the DMC Act, the Lt Governor can nominate 10 eminent persons as Aldermen to the MCD following recommendation by the Delhi government.
Aldermen do not have voting rights but are nominated from among social workers or experts in different fields.
The nomination is generally done at the beginning of the term of a corporation. However, there was some controversy over the list of Aldermen nominated after 2007 MCD polls and since then the process was on hold.
The meeting of Ms. Dikshit and Mr. Aggarwal with Ms. Sonia Gandhi comes at a time when the Chief Minister has been attacked by a section within the Congress for her proposal to split the MCD into five smaller bodies ahead of next year’s municipal polls.
Apparently, Mr. Aggarwal is opposed to the move as he feels dividing the MCD would badly affect the Congress in the municipal polls.
Asked whether the issue figured in the meeting, he said no discussion had taken place on any matter as it was “just a courtesy call”.
On the allegations of corruption in CWG spending against Delhi Government, he refused to comment.
