Phone Call Made From PMO To Defer MCD Polls: Arvind Kejriwal Ups Ante Against BJP

“The BJP doesn’t want elections. The BJP leaders broke all the records of loot in the MCD,” he added.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. (File Photo/ PTI)

New Delhi: In what may trigger a fresh confrontation between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday claimed that a phone call was made from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to the State Election Commissioner asking him to defer the MCD elections.

“This would not have happened anywhere in the world that a PM is getting an election deferred by directly calling and sending a letter to the Election Commission,” Kejriwal claimed in the Delhi Assembly, PTI reported.

“The BJP doesn’t want elections. The BJP leaders broke all the records of loot in the MCD,” he added.

Escalating his attack on the BJP, Kejriwal sought to know why the saffron party did not reunify all the three municipal corporations in the last seven years.

“Were you (BJP) sleeping for seven years?”  the AAP national convener asked.

Kejriwal said the State Election Commission (SEC) was scheduled to declare the dates of the MCD elections at 5 p.m. on March 9, but a “phone call from the PMO was made to the commissioner and a letter was sent just an hour before the announcement to cancel the polls”.

Alleging that the BJP hated Babasaheb Ambedkar because he gave the Constitution and democracy, the Delhi Chief Minister dared the saffron party to fight the MCD polls timely and win.

“The biggest party of the world (BJP) got scared by the smallest party of the world (AAP),” he said.

Kejriwal’s remarks came after the Delhi State Election Commission deferred the announcement of election schedule for the civic bodies earlier this month.

The development came after the State Election Commission received a communication from Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, saying the Central government plans to bring a Bill in the Parliament’s Budget Session to unify the three municipal corporations of Delhi.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Union Cabinet gave its nod to a Bill to merge the three municipal corporations in Delhi.

In tune with the same, the Bill regarding the unification of civic bodies in Delhi is likely to be tabled in the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament.

PTI reported sources as saying that there may be some reorganisation of wards in Delhi which might delay the polls.

The number of municipal wards in Delhi, sources added, is likely to be capped around 250.

The city presently has 272 municipal wards.