Kejriwal slams BJP, Cong in video: ‘What have you done for MCD in 20 years?’

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has challenged the BJP and the Congress to name at least one ‘outstanding’ work that they executed while they were in power in the city’s municipal corporations during the past two decades.

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has challenged the BJP and the Congress to name at least one ‘outstanding’ work that they executed while they were in power in the Delhi’s municipal corporations during the past two decades.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal with his deputy Manish Sisodia at the launch of Delhi government's "revolutionary" welfare scheme that makes radiology tests completely free for Delhi residents, on March 2, 2017. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

In a video released on Thursday, which will be used during the campaign for the upcoming Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections, Kejriwal told residents that maintaining sanitation and cleanliness in the city was the responsibility of the BJP-ruled municipal corporations but it has ‘failed’ miserably on that front.

“Name one state government of the BJP or Congress that has done similar work in two years as the AAP government. The BJP and Congress have in MCD for the past two decades. Let them name even one work that they have done, which can be termed outstanding. You (people) also think about it and recall one,” Kejriwal is heard saying in the video.

In the about 14-minute video, which also talks about the Aam Aadmi Party government’s achievements, the Delhi CM called upon the city residents to ensure a clean sweep for his party in the upcoming civic polls to ensure a ‘corruption-free MCD and garbage free Delhi’.

Elections to the three corporations are scheduled to be held in the city in April, but dates for it are yet to be announced by the state election commission. The MCD, which was trifurcated in 2012, has been under BJP rule for the past decade. The differing leadership has led to several clashes between the two parties.

Referring to the frequent strikes by sanitation staff in the city, Kejriwal accused the BJP and Congress of ruining the MCDs by overlooking corruption. A major political war had erupted over the sanitation crisis last year since the municipal bodies are ruled by the BJP and the AAP is in power in Delhi.

Sanitation workers and other staff of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) have gone on strikes five times in the past couple of years over non-payment of salaries. In January, EDMC sanitation workers in east Delhi called off their strike 11 days after they refused to lift garbage to protest against non-payment of salaries.

Comparing the performance of the AAP government with the MCDs, Kejriwal cited the construction of the Rani Jhansi flyover that is being undertaken by the MCD since 2006 but is yet to be completed.

“In comparison, we have constructed five flyovers in two years and saved money as well,” Kejriwal said.

The 2017 municipal elections will be the first full-fledged civic elections for AAP, which made an impressive debut last year by winning 5 of 13 seats in the Delhi municipal bypolls. Congress picked up four seats while the BJP, which earlier held seven seats, only managed three.

Last Friday, the AAP announced a list of 109 candidates for the MCD polls.

Apart from the BJP and Congress, the AAP also has Swaraj India, the political party formed by former AAP leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan, as a competitor in the important civic polls.