NEW DELHI: At an event to regularise 607 sanitisation workers, Mayor Shelly Oberoi read out a letter from AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal saying the party wants mayoral elections to be held immediately and a Dalit community member must be elected to power.
In the letter, he alleged that elections were deliberately not held due to a “conspiracy” of the opposition BJP to deprive the Scheduled Caste community of its rights.
“This year (third term of AAP in MCD), the mayor from the SC community was to be elected in Delhi Municipal Corporation. After coming out of jail, I came to know that as part of a conspiracy, they did not even conduct the mayor’s elections behind my back. They deliberately took away the rights of the people of the SC community. This cannot be tolerated under any circumstances. I request you to immediately conduct mayor’s elections and ensure that the SC community gets its rights,” Oberoi quoted Kejriwal as saying in Hindi, according to PTI.
Although Kejriwal was scheduled to attend the event, he was unable to do so due to an emergency. His message was delivered by Oberoi during her speech.
Mayoral elections have been pending since April due to the non-appointment of a presiding officer by the L-G VK Saxena who earlier said, he did not “deemed it fit” to make the decision in the absence of the now former chief minister Kejriwal, who was lodged in Tihar in connection with excise policy linked money laundering case.
Kejriwal was released from jail on bail in September. The third term of five-year tenure in MCD is reserved for a Dalit community member.
In the letter, Kejriwal also claimed and credited the AAP for ensuring the timely disbursal of salaries of the sanitisation workers under its tenure.