Two days ahead of Delhi’s civic polls, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday accused the BJP of trying to cover up its “corruption and failure” in the local bodies by seeking votes in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and cast doubt on the Election Commission’s insistence on the use of EVMs.
He said the BJP’s strategy would not work as people know that the three municipal corporations will not be run by Modi, but local leaders of the BJP who have failed in their job in the past 10 years.
Pointing out that people have started doubting the credibility of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in a “big way”, Kejriwal also blamed the Election Commission (EC) for not conducting a “fair probe” into the controversy surrounding it. The Delhi Chief Minister said if someone casts his vote in favour of the BJP, the person should know that his vote is going for a Delhi with “filth, dengue and chikungunya” for the next five years.
Citing poor sanitation in the national capital which is leading to a rise in vector-borne diseases such as dengue and chikungunya, he said there is “no hope” from the BJP and that the only hope for the people of Delhi is his Aam Aadmi Party.
“The only hope for the BJP is Narendra Modi and by using his name, the party wants to cover up its corruption and the poor sanitation condition.
“How will Modiji improve the situation in MCD? Work in the MCD will not be undertaken by Modi, but local BJP leaders — Vijendra Gupta, Vijay Goel and others. People know that Kejriwal, and not Modi, will run the MCD,” Kejriwal told PTI in an interview.
He said that if the BJP really wanted to do the something, its leaders in the MCD could have done the same in the last 10 years.
Attacking the BJP for “destroying” all three municipal corporations, Kejriwal said the party has ruled the bodies for 10 years, but it has not done even a single good work in the national capital.
He said that if the AAP is voted to power in the MCD, it will get Delhi rid of “mafias” operating in the supply of electricity and water.
“The AAP government has eradicated tanker, electricity, parking, counterfeit mafias. The AAP is the only party which also can eliminate several mafias — parking mafia, road mafia — in the MCDs,” the Delhi Chief Minister said.
Triangular battle
The elections to all the 272 wards of the three civic bodies where the BJP, Congress and the AAP are locked in a triangular battle will be held on Sunday.
Before 2012, there was one unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). During the Sheila Dikshit regime, it was trifurcated into three bodies — North, South and East Delhi Municipal Corporations. The BJP has been ruling the civic bodies since 2007.
Seeking votes on his government’s work, Kejriwal said people know what the AAP dispensation has done for them in the last two years.
The party that has ruled the local bodies for the last 10 years has failed miserably: Delhi CM