The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) announced ten promises, including a garbage-free Delhi and a corruption-free civic body, if they win the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) election. The MCD is going to the polls on December 4.
The election of the MCD was scheduled for May, however, it was extended due to the unification of all three MCDs – south, east and north. The number of wards has also decreased to 250 from 272.
AAP’s 10 guarantees include no mountain of garbage, a corruption-free MCD, an end to the parking problem, a solution to the stray animal problem, good roads and lanes, good health and education, good parks, a timely salary for its employees, all problems of businessmen will be solved and a proper vending zone for small businessmen.
While releasing guarantees on Friday, Delhi Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said, “There will be no landfill site. The disposal of garbage is not rocket science. We will take the opinions of experts from London, Tokyo and remove these landfills. BJP had no intention to clean Delhi.”
The AAP national convenor further said he wants to beautify Delhi, and if AAP comes to power, it will clean the roads and lanes.
“We will make the MCD corruption-free. The procedure for clearing the map for construction will be simplified and transparent. The procedure for clearance of map will be online,” said Kejriwal.
AAP has alleged that BJP, which is running in the MCD, has made the civic body “maha corrupt department” as many of its councillors made a lot of money.
AAP also claimed that the civic body has completely failed to remove the three garbage heaps from the national capital. “AAP will beautify Delhi, clear out garbage mountains and end corruption in MCD,” Kejriwal said.
“Delhi’s parking crisis-stray animal problems will be solved, MCD roads, schools, hospitals and parks will be facelifted and transformed. Traders will be uplifted, Inspector-Raj, Conversion-Parking Fees will be ended; hawkers will get vending zones to trade in,” he added.
“MCD’s contract workers will be regularised; all employees will be paid salaries in the first week of the month itself,” Kejriwal said. He also asserted that the AAP’s guarantees were no less than ‘Fevicol Ka Jod’, and that the party sticks to its words.
Blaming the Centre for MCD employees going without salaries, Kejriwal said the centre did not give a single ‘naya paisa’ to MCD. He also said that it was the Delhi government that funded MCD for the salaries of its workers.
“Last time, they (BJP) had made towering promises, all of which they failed to keep. First, they said Kejriwal doesn’t fund the MCD properly, so they will ask for funds from the Centre,” he said.
“The Central Government and the MCD have been run by the same party for the past five years. Yet the Centre did not give them a single naya paisa to run the MCD. They played politics over it. They abused me over it,” Kejriwal said.
On the question of how many seats the AAP will get, Kejriwal said, “This time the BJP will go on to win less than 20 seats in the 250 wards of the MCD. I can give this to the media in writing.”