AAP leader Atishi hits out at BJP on introducing bill in Lok Sabha to merge 3 Delhi MCDs

New Delhi: Senior AAP leader Atishi on Friday said the introduction of a bill in Lok Sabha to merge the three municipal corporations in Delhi is a tactic by the BJP to delay the civic body polls as it is afraid it will be defeated. Speaking during the ongoing session of the Delhi Legislative Assembly, the Aam Aadmi Party leader said in the past too, the BJP had resorted to similar tactics to delay Assembly polls in the national capital but they did not yield any results. The BJP, however, welcomed the introduction of the bill in the Lower House of Parliament, saying it will strengthen the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and ensure timely disbursement of employees’ salaries. Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai introduced the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022, in Lok Sabha earlier in the day amid Opposition claims that the move was beyond the legislative competence of Parliament. The bill provides for a unified municipal corporation of Delhi by subsuming the existing three corporations where the BJP has been in power since 2012. The BJP was also in power from 2007 to 2011 in the erstwhile unified MCD. Atishi said this move is a tactic by the BJP to delay the civic body polls in Delhi as it fears it will face defeat. The BJP had used similar tactics earlier as well when President’s rule was imposed in Delhi to delay Assembly polls. However, the party was restricted to just three seats when the elections were held, she said. “You (BJP) could have won 15-20 seats had the elections taken place now. But now with the delay in elections, you will be restricted to single digits just like the Delhi Assembly elections. If this does not happen, we will leave politics,” Atishi said. Delhi Congress president Chaudhary Anil Kumar said with this bill, the BJP is only trying to postpone its defeat in the municipal polls. “This move is a conspiracy hatched by the BJP to postpone their defeat in the civic polls. It is nowhere mentioned in the draft bill how the MCD’s financial situation will be improved,” he said. The bill states that the trifurcation of the erstwhile MCD was “uneven” in terms of territorial divisions and revenue-generating potential. At present, the three corporations in Delhi – North, South and East – have a total of 272 seats. While North and South corporations have 104 seats each, the East corporation has 64. Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta said the bill will benefit the corporation and its employees. “This move will strengthen the MCD and improve its services like sanitation, health and education, among others. The Delhi government has been troubling civic bodies by not giving them funds. They (AAP government) were weakening the MCD. The unification will help MCD employees and ensure timely disbursement of salaries and arrears,” he said. The erstwhile MCD was trifurcated in 2011.

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