AAP, BJP councillors trade blame over user charges, civic reforms

Councillors of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held parallel protests on Wednesday, each accusing the other of burdening Delhi’s residents with user charges and stalling civic reforms, turning the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) into a political flashpoint.

Leading a protest outside MCD Commissioner Ashwini Kumar’s office, Delhi Mayor Mahesh Kumar Khichi, Leader of the House Mukesh Goel and scores of AAP councillors demanded immediate implementation of two key resolutions passed by the House: regularisation of 12,000 contractual employees and relief in house tax. Accusing the MCD Commissioner of avoiding accountability, Khichi said, “Despite prior intimation, the MCD Commissioner left office citing a court hearing before we arrived. His absence shows clear disregard for democratic procedure.”

Khichi also condemned the recent imposition of user charges without consulting the House or the Mayor. “These charges were arbitrarily introduced under BJP’s pressure and have now been linked with house tax, putting an unjust financial burden on the common people,” he said, calling for their immediate rollback.

Simultaneously, BJP councillors, led by Leader of Opposition Raja Iqbal Singh and Deputy Leader Jai Bhagwan Yadav, staged a protest outside the Mayor’s office, chanting slogans demanding his resignation. “The Aam Aadmi Party is responsible for the current mess,” Singh alleged. “They pretend to oppose user charges, but in reality, it is under their rule that these were implemented.”

The BJP leaders accused AAP of overseeing deteriorating civic conditions, pointing to irregular garbage collection and rising fee for trade licences. “AAP’s double-speak on user charges and civic mismanagement is fooling no one,” said Yadav. “This government must go.”

As the war of words escalates, the issue of user charges and stalled civic proposals continues to deepen the divide in the MCD, leaving Delhi’s residents caught in the crossfire of political one-upmanship.