Centre not allowing municipal polls, will approach Court: Arvind Kejriwal
Jul 05, 2022
New Delhi [India], July 5 : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday accused the BJP-led central government of using force to prevent allowing Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections in the city and asserted that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will approach the court to get the polls conducted on time.
"First, they held off MCD poll with MCD Unification Bill. Once it was passed, they said they would form a Delimitation Commission (for unification of MCDs) and conduct a poll. However, it has been a month and a half. It hasn't been set up so far. It was an excuse to defer the poll," Delhi Chief Minister said to reporters today after speaking in the Delhi Assembly on the second day of the monsoon session.
He added, "The BJP is terrified of the AAP in Delhi. They don't want to hold the election. This is undemocratic. If needed, we would take the matter to the Court."
In April this year, the Parliament passed a bill to merge three municipal corporations of Delhi into a single entity.
The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was passed in the Rajya Sabha with a voice vote after a reply by Home Minister Amit Shah. The bill was earlier passed by Lok Sabha.
Amit Shah had then said that the bill seeks to unify the three municipal corporations into "a single, integrated and well-equipped entity" to ensure a robust mechanism for synergised and strategic planning and optimal utilisation of resources.
Shah also accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi of "step-motherly" treatment of three municipal corporations of the national capital--North Delhi Municipal Corporation, South Delhi Municipal Corporation, and East Delhi Municipal Corporation.
"All the three municipal corporations of Delhi are not functioning properly due to the step-motherly behaviour of the AAP party," Shah had said.
The Home Minister said it is necessary to unify the three municipal corporations into one entity so that these can work in a proper manner.
Shah said AAP's "step-motherly attitude towards these municipal corporations has resulted into dissatisfaction among their employees, and the three units are functioning in different ways despite being part of one city".
The bill proposes to appoint "Special officer" who will essentially discharge the functions of the elected wing of councillors as in the interim till the first meeting of the new corporation is held.
The Bill aims to merge three municipal corporations of Delhi into a single entity by seeking an amendment to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957. The Act was amended in 2011 by Delhi Legislative Assembly to trifurcate the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi into North, South, and East Delhi Municipal Corporation. The Bill was passed by Lok Sabha on March 30.
The bill proposes to completely omit the section on directors, local bodies in the amended act that governs the functioning of the MCDs.
