NEW DELHI: AAP has reacted sharply to the dissolution of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) standing committee before the completion of its tenure on June 12.
Training guns on the BJP, AAP MCD co-incharge Praveen Kumar claimed that the ruling party dissolved the panel three months in advance to facilitate corruption worth crores of rupees in the civic body.
Questioning the ruling party’s proposal to limit the panel’s tenure to March 31, Kumar pointed out that the BJP itself had fixed the standing committee’s tenure at one year earlier and framed a rule prohibiting its dissolution before the end of the term.
Addressing a press conference at the AAP headquarters on Wednesday, Kumar said, “The standing committee is a very important body in the MCD and holds maximum powers. It is responsible for executing works, passing budgets, and approving large projects. It is unfortunate that due to internal conflict and infighting within the BJP, the people of Delhi are suffering.” He then sharply remarked, “This is a four-engine government, and all four engines are colliding with one another, damaging democracy.”
“Because of this, they hastily brought a proposal to limit the tenure of the standing committee,” Kumar alleged, adding, “When the current Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta was the chairman of the standing committee and Aarti Mehra the Mayor, a proposal was passed to ensure that the panel would continue until a new one was formed or until it completed one year. This means it cannot be dissolved before one year or before a new committee is constituted. This model has been followed ever since.”
“The BJP wants to render the standing committee inactive and pass large project tenders through the backdoor,” he further said, noting, “All work of the standing committee will come to a halt.”