Kejriwal reaches out to RWAs ahead of Delhi municipal polls
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Kejriwal reaches out to RWAs ahead of Delhi municipal polls

The CM released an audio message raising the issue of audit of power companies but residents express scepticism over the move.

Kejriwal reaches out to RWAs ahead of Delhi municipal polls Picture used for representative purpose only

Although the dates for Delhi’s municipal polls are yet to be announced, Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Chief Minister, has begun reaching out to resident welfare associations of the city.

On the evening of March 6, after the first day of Delhi budget session, Kejriwal’s team of press advisors released an audio message in which the CM can be heard talking about RWAs in Delhi.

Kejriwal reiterated his promise of getting the audit of power companies done. In the audio message, he said, “Delhi’s RWAs had united against power companies and had demanded audit of their accounts. But the then-ruling party did not hear their voice. Soon after we filed a petition in the Delhi High Court.”

In 2012 and 2013, several RWAs and other representatives of the residents had raised their voice against power companies’ decision to raise power tariff by 6 per cent. Congress, the then-ruling party, had also given its consent to the hike. But RWAs had tried to put pressure on the government to audit the account of all power companies in the city.

When AAP came into power in 2014, it filed a petition in the Delhi High Court, seeking its approval to audit power companies by a team of chartered accountants of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). The Delhi HC had dismissed the petition and the matter is pending before the Supreme Court.

However, residents are calling it (the audio message) a political gimmick to gain support of RWAs in the upcoming MCD polls scheduled in April. The RWAs have expressed scepticism about the sudden drive to inaugurate different projects. It’s not just Delhi government’s ministers and MLAs but municipal councillors (from BJP and Congress) in the last two weeks have also been engaged in a “ribbon-cutting race” across the city.

When City Spidey spoke to Ashutosh Dikshit, general secretary of United Residents Joint Action (URJA), the apex body of RWAs in Delhi, he said, “Why is there a ribbon-cutting race? What have the MCD or the Delhi government done so far? If the politicians were waiting for an opportunity to gain favour of the RWAs before election, what are the MCD or the Delhi government officials waiting for?”