The Indian Express 03.08.2012
Ahead of I-Day, two mayors fight for right to hoist Tricolour
Among the myriad confusions that the trifurcation of Delhi’s civic
agency has thrown up, the right to unfurl the national flag at the Civic
Centre on Independence Day is one thing that got past everybody’s mind
until two mayors laid claim to the honour.
The 28-storey Civic Centre, headquarters of both North and South
municipal corporations, is currently abuzz with this tricky question:
Who will unfurl the Tricolour on August 15? Will it be North’s Mayor
Meera Aggarwal or her South counterpart Savita Gupta?
Though the jury is still out, administrators are on their toes to
work out a formula, or maybe a compromise, after the two women made
their intentions clear. The mayors want an answer — quickly.
A North corporation file in the regard is being pushed back and
forth between administrative officials and Aggarwal. “The North
commissioner is on leave, so the file was sent to additional
commissioner Pawan Sharma. The North’s mayor has asked the additional
commissioner to clarify who should unfurl the flag,” a senior official
said.
“Caught in the crossfire, additional commissioner initially
requested the mayors to settle the issue amicably. But he remarked on
the file that the Civic Centre falls within the jurisdiction of North
Municipal Corporation. This implied that Aggarwal has the right to
unfurl the flag,” he said.
“This allegedly raised Aggarwal’s hopes and she sent the file back to him, asked him to put it in writing,” the official said.
When South Mayor Gupta got wind of the additional commissioner’s
comments, she dug in her heels and even threatened to take the matter to
the BJP’s Delhi leadership because the Civic Centre is on the
“boundary” of her municipality.
“The matter could have been solved amicably. I can approach the
municipal commissioner to grant me the right. I will now approach the
BJP state chief to intervene,” Gupta said.
Caught on the back foot by her counterpart’s tough stand,
Aggarwal said let the commissioner decide. “For every crucial matter we
seek intervention of the commissioner. We will obey the commissioner’s
directive even on this,” she said.
Prior to the split, the mayor of the undivided MCD used to unfurl
the Tricolour on Independence Day — celebrated with much fanfare at the
showpiece civic headquarters.
