Oppn Cries 'Protocol Violation' as Mayor Occupies in 3rd Place in BJP-led South Delhi PTM Poster

New Delhi: The Opposition AAP in BJP-led SDMC House on Wednesday raised the issue of a public poster depicting the mayor's image on third position after other party leaders, and alleged it was a "protocol violation", leading to a furore.

The Leader of AAP in House, Kishanwati, and party alderman Suraj Prakash Jhinghala also alleged that the step was driven by "casteist mindset".

South Delhi Mayor Sunita said she has taken cognisance of the matter.

The poster was put in an area in the south zone of the SDMC for a parents teachers (PTM) meet on July 28.

As AAP members raised the issue, waving a copy of the poster, members of Opposition Congress joined the protesting colleagues from the AAP, and they both demanded that an apology be tendered.

"Madam mayor your image on the poster has been relegated to third position. You are the mayor of not one party but entire Delhi, you are the first citizen of the area. This poster is a violation of protocol," Jhinghala said.

"The mayor belongs to the SC community, and so many councillors belong to that community. This poster shows the poor mentality of the people who got this poster made," Kishanwati alleged.

Mayor Sunita said she has taken cognisance of the issue and will get the issue probed.

"However, it is unfair to give this issue a caste colour and level sweeping allegation on the BJP. If there was a discrimination, I wouldn't have been sitting here," the mayor said.

The House witnessed heated exchanges between the members of the ruling BJP and opposition members.

Leader of Congress in SDMC, Abhishekh Dutt also demanded that an apology be tendered as it was a "violation of protocol".

SDMC councillor and chairperson of its education committee Nandini Sharma later made a statement in the House, saying, "I do not know the full issue, but as the chairperson of the education committee, I apologise for this episode".

Earlier, the House also saw heated exchanges between the members of the ruling party and opposition parties, on the issue of funds.

Kishanwati claimed that even though the civic body was facing a financing crunch, the mayor had been allotted "disproportionately larger fund compared to the fund assigned to councillors for development work.

Leader of House Kamaljeet Sehrawat later said, mayor is approached by several citizens, so a larger fund is allocated.

The ongoing anti-dengue campaign by the Arvind Kejriwal-led government also became a matter of heated discussion in the House.

BJP and Congress members sought to attack Kejriwal and accused him of "just spending money on advertisement" to combat dengue.

"The dengue breeding checking (DBC) workers are the real strength and they work day in and day out to ensure it did not become a menace this year. The government should give the financial approval to appoint them as employees if they really want to acknowledge their work," Sehrawat said.

The House had begun with mayor and other leaders from all three parties paying respects to former finance minister Arun Jaitley and noted jurist Ram Jethmalani, both of whom died recently.

It was briefly adjourned before being reconvened for the proceedings.