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'Will quit politics if...': Kejriwal's ultimatum over delay in MCD polls
He further questioned if elections can be postponed citing the merging of the three municipal corporations of Delhi.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said the Aam Aadmi Party will 'quit politics' if civic body elections are held on time and if the Bharatiya Janata Party wins the polls. His statement comes amid a row over postponement of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections after the union cabinet gave its nod to The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2022 - a bill that proposes to merge three municipal corporations in Delhi. The AAP convenor dared the BJP to conduct the polls on time, saying it would otherwise amount to 'muzzling people's voices'.
"If the BJP postpones elections due to fear of losing power in minuscule MCD, then it amounts to muzzle people's voices. I challenge the BJP to conduct the MCD polls on time. We (AAP) will quit politics if the MCD polls are held timely and the BJP wins the elections," news agency ANI quoted Kejriwal as saying while speaking to media persons outside the Delhi Assembly.
"The manner in which the BJP government at the centre is pressurising state election commission to postpone the MCD elections is an affront to martyrs and democracy. They are bringing an amendment to delay the polls for months. We all know that the BJP will be wiped out in the MCD elections," Kejriwal added.
He further questioned if elections can be postponed citing the merging of the three municipal corporations of Delhi. "Tomorrow if the BJP senses that the party can lose Gujarat, will they merge Gujarat and Maharashtra to avert polls? Can Lok Sabha elections be postponed by making such an excuse?" he asked.
Also read | Cabinet clears move to unify Delhi’s MCDs
The bill to merge the three civic bodies is likely to come before Parliament in the ongoing budget session.
Erstwhile, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) was trifurcated into three municipal corporations, including South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), and East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC), in 2011, as per Delhi Municipal Corporation Amendment Act, 1911 (Delhi Act, 12 Of 2011).
Earlier State Election Commissioner SK Srivastava said the centre had deferred the announcement of polling dates for the MCD election after it raised a few issues that are yet to be legally examined by the Election Commission.
