New Delhi : Earlier today, Arvind Kejriwal told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that postponing civic polls in Delhi would weaken democracy.
According to the Delhi State Election Commission, the centre plans to introduce a bill to unify three civic bodies during the Budget Session, and the poll panel is examining the communication from Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal ,It has decided to delay announcing the schedule of elections.
It is estimated that the panel will have enough time to conduct the polls before the end of the term on May 18.
The three municipal corporations - South Delhi Municipal Corporation, North Delhi Municipal Corporation and East Delhi Municipal Corporation - are currently in BJP's control.
"People are questioning the move. It has been seven-eight years since the BJP is at the Centre, why didn't they do it (unification) earlier," Mr Kejriwal asked. "The BJP knows that there is an AAP wave in Delhi and they would lose elections," Kejriwal added.
If tomorrow, three municipal corporations are clubbed, they will sit out of one office. The employees will do as needed, but why defer elections for this? Tomorrow if India is to go from a Parliamentary system to a Presidential system of governance, will elections be deferred? If two states are merged into one, will elections be deferred? These are unrelated incidents." Kejriwal said.
"With folded hands, I urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi to let the elections happen. Governments come and go. The country is important and not political parties. If we pressure the Election Commission, it weakens institutions. We should not let the institutions weaken since it weakens democracy and the country," he said.
Meanwhile, a tweet by a CPI(ML) leader stated that the Election Commission does not supervise the Delhi civic polls.
CPI(ML) leader Sucheta De had termed the deferring of the elections an "alarming development" and urged the poll panel not to "buckle under pressure". However, the Election Commission clarified that it did not have the mandate to conduct local elections.