Delhi

Despite the L-G having legal discretion to select any councillor who is not contesting for the post of Mayor or Deputy Mayor, he selected from among the six names sent to him through Deputy Chief Minister (Manish Sisodia) and Chief Minister (Arvind Kejriwal) on the basis of universally accepted criteria for elimination/selection, the L-G office said in a statement.

"Despite the L-G having legal discretion to select any councillor who is not contesting for the post of Mayor or Deputy Mayor, he selected from among the six names sent to him on the basis of universally accepted criteria for elimination/selection," the statement issued by the L-G office read.

"I have come across a statement issued by your office today which says that since it is written in the relevant provisions of DMC Act that Administrator shall appoint... therefore, the ten aldermen and the presiding officer for election of Mayor were directly appointed and got notified by your goodself without the involvement of the elected government," said Kejriwal.

Khurana made the remarks on Thursday in backdrop of media reports that top officials of Tihar Jail have accused Jain of "threat and intimidation" and lodged a complaint against the AAP leader with the Director-General (Prisons) He said that Jain's "arbitrariness" as a minister and his "authoritarianism" in jail reminds him of Amrish Puri's role as a politician in Bollywood movie Nayak, where the villain (Puri) threatens government officials. Refferring to Tihar officials' complaint, the BJP spokesperson said that the time has come when Enforcement Directorate should file an application in Court

Assistant Superintendent Jaidev and Deputy Superintendent Parveen Kumar, Tihar Jail, had complained against Satyendar Jain in an 'incident report' on December 8, 2022, that when they went to serve a Show Cause Notice to Jain as per rule 1272 of DPR, 2018, he threatened them.

"I could not sleep in the night thinking that it could have been our daughter... and the L-G says that his head hangs in shame. I think he should be dismissed from the office," Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said at a press conference at Rouse Avenue.

Born out of the Anna Hazare Movement, the party was formally formed on November 26, 2012, and emerged on the national political landscape in December 2022 after making inroads in Gujarat. After the landslide victory in Punjab which was the first state where the party succeeded in forming the government outside the 'home state' Delhi, the AAP also succeeded in making inroads in Gujarat as the party was able to get five assembly seats for the first time. By the end of the year the AAP emerged as the single largest party in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections

Sisodia had written to the L-G, alleging that the L-G secretariat has "in recent past resorted to the practice of calling for files from various departments through their respective secretaries, the Chief Secretary and transacting business thereon, such as approving the issuance of notifications etc., completely bypassing the concerned minister as also the Cabinet".

Sources also said that all facilities such as a table and chair in his cell will also be removed. Recently, a three-member committee, headed by the Principal Secretary, Home, set up by the Delhi Lt Governor, stated that Jain violated prison norms and misused his official position and authority to enjoy special treatment in jail.

Shelly Oberoi, councillor from ward No. 86 of Patel Nagar constituency, has been named as the mayoral candidate, and Aale Mohammad Iqbal has been named for the post of deputy mayor.