AAP appeals to Delhiites to give charge of civic bodies to Kejriwal

The AAP appealed to the people of Delhi on Friday to give the responsibility of the municipal corporations to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and promised to make the national capital the cleanest city in the country.

Addressing a press conference, Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) chief spokesperson and Greater Kailash MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj said the BJP-ruled municipal corporations ranked very poorly in the latest cleanliness survey and the "citizens had to bow their heads in shame for this".

"Cities like Indore, Navi Mumbai, Surat have performed well, but these cities have the same kind of population as that of Delhi. Politicians always say that the BJP has completely devastated the national capital. They also say that the BJP-led municipal corporations of Delhi are the most corrupt departments," he said.

"We all know that the BJP has made Delhi the capital of garbage and for the last 15 years, the situation has remained the same. Today, on behalf of the AAP, I want to request the citizens of Delhi that in the upcoming MCD polls, give a chance to the Aam Aadmi Party by bringing us in the power of the MCDs," Bhardwaj added.

He asserted that if given the responsibility of the civic bodies, the AAP will make Delhi the cleanest city in the country.

"If you vote for the AAP in the upcoming MCD polls, then we guarantee you a clean city.... If the citizens of Delhi give the responsibility of the municipal corporations to the AAP, then we promise that we will have a cleanliness model for the national capital. Just the way the AAP has ushered in a revolution in the education and health sectors, we will bring the same kind of revolution in the MCDs to make Delhi the cleanest city," Bhardwaj said.

The AAP leader's comments came a day after the Swachh Survekshan 2020 awards, which are given on the basis of cleanliness, were announced. The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) was ranked 31st, the North MCD 43rd and the EDMC was ranked 46th in the rankings.

Hitting back at the Kejriwal-led party, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said instead of getting involved in a "dirty ranking bogey", it is the time to respect the hard work put in by the municipal corporations' safai karamcharis during the last six months of the coronavirus pandemic.

"I do not wish to get involved in the dirty ranking bogey being raised by AAP leaders as I feel that this is the time to respect the hard work put in by the safai karamcharis of the municipal corporations during the last six months of the coronavirus pandemic.

"At a time when people fear touching the garbage at their homes, the safai karamcharis have ensured a proper habitable city for us. AAP leaders are saying that people want the Delhi government to take over the sanitation service. I wish to point out that after a few minutes of rain, Delhi turns into a pond, the Delhi Jal Board is responsible for this and people find a reason for the DJB services to be returned back to the municipal corporations like it was till 1997," he said.