The Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday staged a massive protest near Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence over the "ruckus created by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councilors" during a meeting last week of the House of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

Led by their working president Virendra Sachdeva, a large number of Delhi BJP leaders and workers raised slogans against the Aam Aadmi Party and its convener Kejriwal.

Police stopped them while they were heading to the chief minister’s residence from the Chandgiram Akhara, not far from Kejriwal’s official house.

Video released by ANI shows protestors being hosed by the Delhi police using water cannons.

#Watch | Delhi police uses water cannon on BJP workers who were protesting outside Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence against violence in MCD House on 6 January. pic.twitter.com/yRvBtYTBpd

— ANI (@ANI) January 9, 2023

The Aam Aadmi Party on Monday also held a protest outside the BJP headquarters in Delhi led by Delhi minister Raaj Kumar Anand, AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj and party leader Adil Ahmad Khan.

On January 6, the maiden meeting of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) House was adjourned without electing mayor and deputy mayor as BJP and AAP councillors exchanged heated words and came to blows over presiding officer Satya Sharma administering oath to the aldermen first and not the elected representatives.

Also read: Delhi Mayor Election Highlights: AAP-BJP clash, voting postponed, 4 BJP councillors injured

Aldermen refers to people who are experts in their fields. However, they do not have voting rights in the mayoral election.

Lt Governor V.K. Saxena had nominated 10 aldermen to the MCD House on January 3. Only four aldermen could take oath before the House plunged into chaos.

BJP activists try to cross the police barricade during a protest regarding clashes during MCD Mayor's election, near the residence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in New Delhi on Monday.

The AAP alleged that the BJP made the aldermen take oath first in order to get them voting rights for the mayor and deputy mayor elections.

"We are here to protest against what was done on January 6. We feel that these nominated aldermen were administered oath first as they might be given voting rights. We want a statement from the LG that they will not vote and only then our protest will end," said AAP’s mayoral candidate Shelly Oberoi.

The AAP had alleged that all the nominated members were BJP workers and the civic body sent their names directly to Saxena without keeping the city government in the loop.

"What happened in the MCD House on January 6 was extremely shameful. The AAP councilors attacked BJP councilors including women. We are prepared to retaliate to the hooliganism of the AAP," Sachdeva said.

BJP MP Parvesh Verma told reporters on Monday, "Our protest will continue until CM Kejriwal doesn't suspend goon municipal councillors. How dare our women municipal councillors were hit by them. This hasn't ever happened before in history. We request LG to suspend goon councillors."

Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said the AAP councillors had disrespected the Constitution by creating ruckus in the MCD House and preventing the oath-taking of aldermen.

With agency inputs.

(Edited by : Ayushi Agarwal)