In the run-up to the civic polls, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said the people of Delhi have to decide whether they want to be AAPnirbhar (dependent on AAP) or Atmanirbhar (self-reliant). Mr. Shah made this comment while inaugurating a waste-to-energy plant in Tughlakabad’s Tehkhand.
Mr. Shah also alleged that the Delhi government had given “stepmotherly” treatment to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) by “not paying it the due amount of more than ₹40,000 crore”.
Four days ago, BJP chief J.P. Nadda had formally kick-started his party’s campaign for the municipal polls through a rally at Ramlila Maidan. The BJP has been in power in the MCD continuously since 2007, including the 10-year period starting from January 2012 when the civic body was trifurcated. The three civic bodies were reunified in May this year. On October 17, the Centre ratified a proposal on municipal wards in the city, taking Delhi a step closer to holding civic polls.
Counter charge
In response to Mr. Shah’s statement, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that in the next municipal polls, the people will have to decide whether they want a clean city or one filled with garbage. He also asked the Union Minister how much funds the Centre gave to the civic bodies over the last 15 years.
“Do not make excuses for your failures. Tell the public what you did in the last 15 years,” the Delhi CM tweeted in Hindi.
AAP’s chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj claimed the “Delhi government gave ₹1.5 lakh crore to the MCD” and that “[the] BJP should answer what happened to this money”. The MCD, however, issued a statement refuting Mr. Bharadwaj’s claim.
‘Election gimmick’
The plant inaugurated by Mr. Shah has a capacity to process 2,000 tonnes of waste every day and produce 25 MW of electricity. The Union Home Minister said another such plant will be built in Narela, after which the city will be in a position to treat all the waste it produces.
Meanwhile, terming the waste management plant an “election gimmick”, AAP held a protest at the Bhalswa landfill demanding that Mr. Shah visit the site to understand the reality of BJP’s waste management, instead of “making pointless inaugurations fearing [BJP’s] loss in MCD polls”.
