Kejriwal makes civic poll pitch in first ‘Talk to AK’
EYE ON ELECTION CM says city’s civic woes because of BJP-run MCDs, AAP will solve them if voted to power
NEW DELHI: Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, in his maiden dialogue with people ‘Talk to AK’, set the tone for next year’s municipal poll by promising to improve Delhi’s sanitation and roads if the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) wins it.
He trained his guns on the BJP-run corporations for the city’s civic woes, alleging several times that most of Delhi’s problems were because of the municipal corporations of Delhi.
AAP won five out of 13 seats in the municipal bypolls held in May. The party has been focusing on municipal poll preparation and Kejriwal’s Sunday pitch has taken it one step further.
The national capital’s solid waste management system is very poor, Kejriwal said in response to a Hyderabad youth’s question.
“The responsibility of cleaning Delhi lies with BJP-ruled MCDs and it is in shambles. Cleaning the city is not difficult but you need the will to do it. We are doing what we can do. Cleaning the city will take a year and a half. When we win the municipal elections next year, this work will start,” he said.
Another caller asked why the roads near his house were broken. “If the road is wider than 60 feet, only then will it come under the Delhi government. The remaining roads are under the municipal corporations. We got the PWD roads repaired ahead of the rains and, if need be, we will do it again,” Kejriwal replied.
The Delhi government has a combative relationship with the municipal corporation in the city.
AAP workers and leaders in the past have called the corporations the ‘most corrupt body’.