BJP not letting reserved category candidate become Delhi mayor: AAP

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday, 26 April, called the BJP "anti-Dalit", saying it was trying to ensure that a candidate from reserved category does not become the mayor of Delhi. 

Their allegations came a day after elections to the posts of mayor and deputy mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) that were slated for April 26 were postponed on Thursday, with Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena citing "unprecedented" circumstances where the chief minister is under judicial custody and cannot discharge his constitutionally obligated functions.

The AAP had fielded Mahesh Khichi for the post of mayor and Ravinder Bhardwaj for deputy mayor of the MCD.

Addressing a press conference, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said, "The BJP through its representative LG ensured that a candidate from the Dalit community does not become the mayor. This shows the anti-Dalit face of the party."

"The Constitution written by Babasaheb Ambedkar says that a person from Dalit community will become the mayor of Delhi for one term. The BJP does not want it. The BJP wants to end reservation," Singh alleged.

The senior party leader said the reason for postponement stated by the LG is not tenable.

"The LG is saying that he works on the aid and advice of the chief minister. But only last year, he had appointed BJP councillor Satya Sharma as the presiding officer of mayoral polls despite the chief minister saying that the seniormost councillor Mukesh Goel was eligible to become the presiding officer," he said.

"He (LG) had appointed 10 aldermen without considering the names sent by chief minister. The matter went to the Supreme Court," the MP added.

"Following the chief minister's arrest, the ministers have directly sent files to LG and he has approved them," he claimed.

There was no immediate reaction from the LG office or BJP to the Singh's charges.