East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir. (Express Photo)Gautam Gambhir, who represents East Delhi in the Lok Sabha, has said the unification of the municipal corporations of Delhi (MCDs) has been necessitated due to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party government as it has been blocking funds given by the Centre for the civic bodies.
“Whatever is being done and whatever steps Election Commission is taking are according to rules and regulations. If anything is actually unconstitutional, then they could go the courts and get a stay,” said Gambhir, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader. The State Election Commission on Wednesday postponed the announcement of dates for the municipal polls in Delhi following a communication from the Centre on the unification of the civic bodies.
The Centre will have to make an amendment to the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act to unify the three municipalities — South, North and East MCDs. After that, Chief Minister Kejriwal appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to defer the upcoming civic body polls on the pretext of reunifying the three civic bodies, saying this would be “a big threat to democracy”.
He also asked the State Election Commissioner not to “bend” to any pressure from the Centre, and to openly declare if he had been threatened or bribed for postponing the announcement of the election schedule. Gambhir said MCD workers from the lowest strata are not getting their salaries because of the funds being stopped. “Whether we win or lose, the BJP never shies away from any election because we believe in democracy both outside as well as inside our party,” he said.
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