Kejriwal hits back at Shah, says don't make excuses for BJP-led MCD's failure

Home Minister Amit Shah accuses Kejriwal govt of step-motherly treatment to erstwhile 3 Delhi civic bodies, says it owes them Rs 40,000 Cr.

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said the Arvind Kejriwal-led party wanted Delhi to be 'AAP Nirbhar' while the BJP wanted the national capital to be Atmanirbhar, and asked the people to choose between the two in the MCD elections. At the launch of a waste-to-energy (WTE) plant in Tehkhand here, Shah also accused the Kejriwal government of step-motherly treatment to the erstwhile three civic bodies and said it owed Rs 40,000 crore to the municipal corporations.

"They (Kejriwal-led party) wants Delhi to be AAP Nirbhar. We want it to become Atmanirbhar. In the next Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls, people will have to decide if they want to be AAP Nirbhar or Atmanirbhar," Shah said at the event in south Delhi. Alleging that the AAP government had been spending heavily on publicity, he claimed Kejriwal was under the impression that development comes from advertisements, but said "this illusion can last only for five to seven years".

"People will have to choose between 'Vigyapan ki Rajniti' (politics of advertisement) and 'Vikas ki Rajniti' (politics of development)," he added. Shah also assured that the BJP will be ready with a plan to make Delhi garbage-free by the time MCD elections are held and that the city will be in a position to process 100 per cent of its daily waste by 2025. With completion of the delimitation process to alter wards under MCD limits and the with Centre's approval for the final draft, the last hurdle to hold the civic body polls has been cleared.

Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday hit back at Union Home Minister Amit Shah over his accusations against the AAP, and asked the BJP not to make "excuses" for its "failure" in running the MCD for 15 years. In a series of tweets, the AAP supremo also said that in the next civic elections, people will have to decide whether they want a Delhi filled with garbage or a clean Delhi.

"For something you could not do in 15 years, now you want three more years for that? Why should people trust you? You won't be able to do it. Now we will make Delhi garbage-free," Kejriwal posted in Hindi on the micro-blogging site. He was responding to allegations levelled against his party by Shah at an event hosted by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) here.

Shah on Thursday said the Arvind Kejriwal-led party wanted Delhi to be 'AAP Nirbhar' while the BJP wanted the national capital to be 'Atmanirbhar', and asked the people to choose between the two in the upcoming MCD elections. At the launch of a waste-to-energy (WTE) plant in Tehkhand here, Shah also accused the Kejriwal government of giving step-motherly treatment to the erstwhile three civic bodies, and said it owed Rs 40,000 crore to the municipal corporations.

In his response, Kejriwal wrote: "How much funds did the central government give to MCD in 15 years? The BJP was in power in both? Double-engine? Don't make excuses for your failure. Tell the public what work you have done in 15 years. I challenge you to tell about any one work." The Ministry of Home Affairs on October 17 issued the final gazette notification for redrawing of municipal wards in Delhi, paving the way for civic polls in the city.

The polls were earlier slated to be held in April, and are now anticipated to take place by the end of this year or early 2023. The BJP, which was ruling the three municipal corporations -- NDMC, SDMC and EDMC -- in Delhi for over a decade before their reunification in May this year, AAP and the Congress have already started preparation for the polls.

The central government has fixed the total number of seats in the MCD at 250. The previous three corporations in Delhi comprised 272 wards. While the North and South corporations accounted for 104 wards each, the East corporation had 64 wards under its jurisdiction. (PTI)