THE MC officers, councillors, and staff members in attendance were stunned as AAP councillor from ward number 23, Prem Lata, raised her arms carrying a placard with slogans in protest, as the national anthem was being played in the House after a meeting. Prem Lata was earlier standing in attention but decided to protest in between the national anthem. The rest of the members, however, continued to stand in attention.
BJP councillor, Maheshinder Singh Sidhu, said, “It is an insult to the national anthem.” When contacted, Prem Lata expressed deep regret for her behavior. She said, “Mai tahe dil se maafi mangti hoon. Aisa phir dubara nahi hoga (I express my heartfelt regrets. It will never happen again)”.
AAP raises parking, water tariff hike issue
The AAP councillors raised the issue of increase in parking fee and water tariff charges in Chandigarh. They also raised the issue of the privatisation of UT electricity department, holding placards for the same. Mayor Sarabjit Kaur assured all councillors that she will take them to UT Administrator Banwarilal Purohit. Many BJP and Congress councillors expressed their concerns against the increased parking fee and water tariffs. Though Mayor Sarabjit Kaur clarified that the issue of privatisation of electricity does not fall in the purview of the MC, AAP councillors insisted her to take up the matter. The AAP councillors also claimed that their microphones were deliberately switched off whenever they tried to speak.
Meanwhile, verbal arguments ensued between BJP councillor Maheshinder Singh Sidhu and AAP councillors when Sidhu claimed that the AAP government privatised electricity in Delhi. Prior to the arguments, Mayor Sarabjit Kaur and MC Commissioner Anandita Mitra had asked the AAP councillors to not interrupt others councillors in session. They were also reminded to not raise issues which were not the part of House meeting agenda in the zero hours. Many AAP councillors interrupted other councillors including Saruabh Joshi, Harpreet Kaur Babla, etc.