Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said the Aam Aadmi Party would do away with residential house tax and waive arrears if voted to power in the April Municipal Corporation of Delhi elections. The civic polls for 272 wards in three municipal corporations are scheduled to be held on April 23, and the results will be declared on April 26.
Alleging corruption in the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled civic corporations, Kejriwal also vowed to ensure timely dispensation of salaries. In January, as many as 30,000 North Delhi Municipal Corporation workers went on a strike to protest against unpaid salaries for two months.
In the run up to the Punjab Assembly elections, AAP had made a similar promise. Also, during its campaign for the 2015 election, Kejriwal had vowed to slash power bills and make water free for city residents.
The BJP criticised the chief minister’s election promise. “It is shameful that he is saying that once his party wins civic elections it will exempt residential properties from house tax. In the last two years, the Kejriwal government has several times written to the three civic bodies to levy and realise house tax sternly, especially from those living in unauthorised colonies,” said Manoj Tiwari, BJP’s Delhi chief.
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