AAP councillors protest outside Mayor’s office
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) headquarters witnessed high drama on Monday as AAP councillors staged a vociferous protest outside Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh’s office, alleging deliberate omission of a proposal to scrap user charges from the House agenda.
Led by Leader of Opposition Ankush Narang, AAP councillors gathered at the Civic Centre, carrying placards and raising slogans, demanding a meeting with the Mayor to press for the inclusion of their proposal. The party accused the BJP-led MCD of backtracking on its poll promise to abolish the controversial user charges.
“Since the beginning, the BJP has had no intention of working for the people of Delhi. All they do is make false promises and avoid real work,” said Narang.
“We had submitted a proposal to remove the user charges, but the BJP is deliberately avoiding it. We will not move until the Mayor agrees to discuss this with us,” said Narang.
The councillors asserted that their protest would continue until the Mayor grants them an audience and agrees to debate the issue in the House.
The standoff comes in the backdrop of an April 7 MCD statement, which reiterated that user fee is mandatory under the Solid Waste Management (SWM) bylaws for garbage collection, transportation and disposal. These regulations fall under a wider framework monitored by the Supreme Court to ensure efficient waste management in the city.
Reacting to the protest, Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh took a sharp dig at the AAP, saying, “Those protesting against the user charge need to be asked — if they were the ones who implemented it, who are they protesting against now? People of Delhi have rejected them and they are back to theatrics. They are all liars. We will not impose any kind of tax on the people of Delhi.”
