‘AAP-nirbhar or Atmanirbhar’: Amit Shah sounds MCD poll bugle, targets Kejriwal

Amit Shah accused Arvind Kejriwal of “step-motherly treatment” to erstwhile three Delhi civic bodies, and claimed that the AAP government owed them ₹40,000 crore.

Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday came down heavily on Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal accusing the AAP government of “step-motherly treatment” to erstwhile three Delhi civic bodies, and claimed that it owed them ₹40,000 crore. Shah added that in the next MCD elections, the people of Delhi will have to decide if they want to be “AAP-nirbhar or Atmanirbhar" (self-reliant).

Union home minister Amit Shah with Delhi lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena and Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta attends the inauguration of MCD's Tehkhand waste-to-energy plant at Tughlakabad in New Delhi on Thursday.  (ANI)

“We will give a reply in a democratic manner to Arvind Kejriwal's behaviour with MCDs. I believe that we will establish daily waste processing facilities in Delhi by 2025 with the help of the MCD. In future, such heaps and mountains of garbage won't be seen,” Shah said referring to the Ghazipur landfill at the MCD's Tehkhand waste-to-energy plant at Tughlakabad in New Delhi.

“The people of Delhi need to decide if they like the politics of 'Vigyapan' (advertisement) or politics of 'Vikas' (development). People should also decide if they like 'prachaar' (campaign) politics or 'parivartan' (change) politics,” the home minister added.

The Union home ministry recently accepted the and notified the final delimitation commission report that was constituted by the Centre following the merger of the three civic bodies into a unified MCD through two notifications issued on October 17, paving the way for holding municipal elections in Delhi. The polls were abruptly cancelled in March when the Centre announced that the three civic bodies in the city will be merged. A unified MCD came into being in May.

As the delimitation exercise is finalised, the government will now ask the state election commission to start with the process of declaring the dates of the election. Reports suggest that the election of MCD can be held either at the end of this year or in early 2023.