Centre to bring bill in Parliament for unifying municipal bodies in Delhi

"The Commission has received a communication from Lt Governor conveying Government of India's intention to bring a legislation in the on-going session (of Parliament) for unification of the three municipal corporations," the SEC said.

New Delhi: The Central plans to bring a bill in the budget session of Parliament to unify the three municipal corporations of Delhi, the State Election Commission said on Wednesday, while deferring the announcement of election schedule for the civic bodies. The development drew a sharp reaction from AAP convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who wondered if Prime Minister Narendra Modi would "not conduct elections in the country now".

In a statement, the SEC said, "The Commission has received a communication from Lt Governor conveying Government of India's intention to bring a legislation in the on-going session (of Parliament) for unification of the three municipal corporations. "The Commission is examining the said communication and hence has decided to announce the election schedule later".

It said that the election process normally takes about 30 days and that the SEC has sufficient time to conduct the poll well before the expiry of the term, clarifying that the Commission has neither deferred nor cancelled the elections. The erstwhile MCD was trifurcated into three civic bodies by the Congress government in Delhi in 2012 despite opposition by the BJP.

PTI