Union Home Minister Amit Shah speaks during the inauguration of 'Waste to Energy' plant, in New Delhi, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022. (PTI Photo)Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), saying they want to make people “AAP nirbhar” or dependent on AAP while BJP wants to make people “atmanirbhar” or self-reliant.
“(Arvind) Kejriwalji gives a press statement every day, gives big advertisements and… he has believed that by giving advertisements, people can be misguided. This could work for five or seven years but slowly people come to know. I am here to say that AAP wants to make people ‘AAP nirbhar’ and we want to make them ‘atmanirbhar’,” Shah said, inaugurating the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD) waste-to-energy plant in Tehkhand.
Shah also took on the AAP over civic issues and MCD funds, giving a clear indication that the corporation polls could be announced soon.
“Delhi people have to decide if they want ‘AAP nirbhar’ or ‘atma nirbhar’. And I want to ask Kejriwalji, why did the corporation have to be unified? Because you did not give more than Rs 40,000 crore due to the corporation,” he said, alleging that AAP had meted out “step-motherly” treatment to civic bodies.
“I want to ask you, should MCD funds be given or not? Is it the responsibility of the Delhi government or not? But you should not worry, though there is an AAP government in Delhi, the Narendra Modi government (is in power) at the Centre…none of your work would stop,” Shah said.
Responding to Amit Shah’s allegations, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal remarked, “How much money did the Centre give to MCD in 15 years? A BJP government was at both the Centre and in MDC. Double engine? Don’t make excuses for your failures. Tell the government what you did in 15 years. I challenge you to tell me about even one thing you did,” he said.
अगले MCD चुनाव में लोगों को ये तय करना है कि उन्हें कूड़े की दिल्ली चाहिए या साफ़ सुथरी दिल्ली चाहिए? https://t.co/Wy4owDCeY5
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) October 20, 2022
The MCD polls, originally scheduled for April, were put off hours before the election schedule was to be announced. The election was called off as the Centre wanted to unify the municipal corporations from three to one and also conduct delimitation to decrease the number of wards.
While unifying the MCD and passing the Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022, the Centre had said it will go for delimitation as the number of wards needs to be fixed to not more than 250 as compared to the present 272. With the redrawn boundaries being finalised, Delhi is likely to see polls in the coming months.
“You have to choose between politics of advertisement and politics of corruption or politics of change. This, the people of Delhi have to decide. They think that if they do not give funds, people will be angry with MCD. But we will go door to door and tell people about your behaviour with MCD. Now, the time has come to give a reply through democratic means,” Amit Shah added.
“After MCD unification, I am sure that Modiji has built such infrastructure that it will be able to create such an ecosystem that Delhi will become the world’s best city,” Shah added.
Shah also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan for inculcating a “swachhta sanskar” or culture of cleanliness among people. “In eight years, it has started showing results. Landfill sites are slowly getting removed,” he said. A scientific network for waste collection has been started from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Gujarat to Assam, Shah said.
Meanwhile, reacting to Shah’s statement that BJP will ensure that 100% daily waste is processed by 2025, Kejriwal said, “You need three years more to do what you could not do in 15 years? Why should people trust you? Let it be. You will not be able to do it. Now, we will make Delhi garbage free.”