Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today came down heavily on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing it of deliberately delaying the Delhi Municipal Corporation Elections 2022. Kejriwal today dared the BJP to hold the MCD elections on time while asking whether the saffron party is afraid of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Kejriwal’s attack comes a day after the Union Cabinet approved a bill for unification of the three corporations of Delhi – South Delhi Municipal Corporation, North Delhi Municipal Corporation and East Delhi Municipal Corporation.
In a series of tweets, Kejriwal alleged that postponing the MCD elections amounted to an insult of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives to establish democracy in the country. He vowed to quit politics if the Aam Aadmi Party loses the MCD elections.
“BJP’s move to postpone Delhi Municipal Corporation elections is an insult to the martyrs who had made sacrifices to establish democracy in the country by driving the Britishers out. Today they are postponing the Delhi Municipal Corporation elections due to fear of defeat, tomorrow they will postpone the elections of the states and Parliament,” he said.
He accused the BJP of delaying MCD polls on the pretext of the unification of the three corporations. “BJP is postponing MCD elections saying that all three corporations of Delhi are being unified. Can elections be postponed because of this? Tomorrow, if they will be losing Gujarat, so can they delay the assembly elections there saying that they are merging Gujarat and Maharashtra? Can Lok Sabha elections be postponed by making such an excuse?” he questioned.
The Delhi chief minister asked whether the BJP which calls itself the largest party in the world, is running away from a small party like AAP due to fear. He dared the BJP to hold the MCD elections on time.
The Bill to unify civic bodies is likely to be presented in Parliament in the ongoing Budget session. According to the DMC Act 1957, elections to the municipalities in Delhi are to be conducted before the expiry of the House in the three civic bodies which means that new houses will have to be elected before May 18. The State Election Commission of Delhi is likely to take a call on the civic body polls in the second week of April after going through the Bill for the unification of the three municipal corporations.
