Sparring between the BJP and AAP in Delhi has intensified in the run-up to the national capital’s civic body polls slated to take place on December 4. Garbage management has become a major topic of debate between the two parties, with the AAP on Tuesday launching its “Kude pe Jansamvad” (public discussion over garbage) campaign.
Deputy CM Manish Sisodia on Wednesday said that Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal will announce AAP’s 10 ‘guarantees’ for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls. He told reporters that AAP leaders held a meeting with the party’s national convener earlier in the day to discuss the elections.
Meanwhile, the BJP on Monday received an overwhelming 15,000 probable candidate biodatas and has said that it will likely announce the first list of 181 candidates on November 12.
Sisodia Visits Ghazipur Landfill Site
Visiting the Ghazipur landfill site on Wednesday, Sisodia told reporters that people will vote for the AAP in the upcoming municipal polls to clear the “garbage of the BJP” and if the Arvind Kejriwal-led party comes to power in the MCD, it will make the “mountains” of trash disappear from the city in five years.
Just to show that the height of the Ghazipur landfill has come down, the BJP-led Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has taken garbage from it and dumped it in nearby areas, he alleged.
People will vote for “jhadu” (the poll symbol of the Aam Aadmi Party) in the December 4 MCD election to clear the “garbage of the BJP for a clean Delhi”, Sisodia said.
‘Dumping Yard During BJP’s Tenure’
AAP leader Atishi on Tuesday alleged that Delhi had become a dumping yard under BJP’s rule in the last 15 years. In a public meeting in Kalkaji, she said the corporation elections are not about political parties, but about concerns of people and whether their localities are kept clean.
Speaking at the launch of the party’s ‘Kude pe Jansamvad’ campaign, she said, “Through this ‘Jansamvad’, we are seeking a feedback on the BJP’s work in the MCD. The BJP has turned Delhi into a dumping yard in 15 years. Appeal to everyone to vote for the Aam Aadmi Party in the MCD elections and bring the Kejriwal model in the MCD to clean Delhi.”
Life-threatening Landfills, 16 New ‘Garbage Mountains’
The AAP also claimed that the landfills had become life-threatening and people who live near them face severe health issues. AAP leader and the party’s MCD poll in-charge, Durgesh Pathak, claimed that fire incidents are reported at landfill sites every year, and these should be investigated and culprits put in jail.
“The BJP was trying to widen the spread of garbage at the Ghazipur landfill and a huge part of the garbage mountain fell on homes of nearby residents,” Pathak said.
He also claimed that as all “three garbage mountains cannot be made any higher, and the BJP is preparing to build 16 new garbage mountains across Delhi”.
The MCD denied these claims, stating that a small portion of the wall of the Waste-to-Energy plant at Ghazipur had collapsed and that, no new landfill sites will be opened in the capital.
‘First Fix Punjab’, BJP Hits Back
Hitting back at AAP, Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta said that they should look at Punjab first. Saying that a landfill in Tajpur in Punjab’s Ludhiana district is taller than the Qutub Minar, he added, “While the Punjab government is thinking of what to do with that garbage, we have already started a waste-to-energy plant in Delhi,” he said, as per The Hindu.
“Instead of claiming to do big things in Delhi, they should fix the garbage issue in Punjab. There are heaps of garbage everywhere in Jalandhar, because of which it was ranked below 150 in the recent cleanliness survey,” he said.
The BJP has been in power in the MCD — trifurcated in 2012 into north, south and east corporations and then unified this year — for three straight terms.
Delhi HC refuses to stay MCD polls
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to stay MCD polls which is slated to be held on December 4. The court stated elections can’t be stayed once it is notified.
Three petitions challenging the delimitation of certain wards and their reservation had been put before it.
The result of the polls is scheduled to be announced on December 7.
(With inputs from agencies)
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