NEW DELHI: Taking a jibe at the Aam Admi Party (AAP), Bharatiya Janata Party leader (BJP) Shazia Ilmi on Sunday advised Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to stop fooling public with his promises to abolish house tax while campaigning for the upcoming MCD elections.
“Arvind Kejriwal continues to be himself and he does what he exactly does best. Just before the election he shows up something new something that is unworkable, but nevertheless fools people. My appeal to him would be to please stop fooling public of Delhi. They are not dunces, morons. Please do not play with them,” BJP leader Shazia Ilmi told ANI.
Asserting that the whole property tax accounts to more than 30 percent of the collection which is an obligatory tax under the MCD Act 1957-58, the BJP leader suggested that local bodies have to be self reliant and shouldn’t be totally dependent on the state or centre’s assistance.
She further said, “It is not in his jurisdiction and whatsoever to have an amendment to this effect. So I feel Kejriwal is very deluded.”
AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal Saturday said the party plans to abolish house tax (residential) if voted into power in the upcoming municipal elections. Kejriwal also said that any pending tax will be waived off.
He called the house tax structure “draconian” and said that it had become a source of widespread corruption for councillors and officers in the MCDs.
There are around nine lakh property tax payers in Delhi and revenue of Rs 600 crore is generated annually through house tax.
When the AAP had campaigned for Assembly elections in 2013 and 2015, the biggest promise it made was of free water and cheaper electricity. The cost of power in Delhi has remained the same since the party came into power in 2015. Every household is given 20 kilo litres of free water a month.
The three municipal corporations go to polls on April 23, while votes will be counted on April 26.