The Aam Aadmi Party has demanded Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena to hold the mayoral election of Delhi Municipal Corporation as soon as possible, so that Delhi can get a mayor from the Dalit community. AAP leader Kuldeep Kumar told the BJP and LG not to snatch the right of becoming the mayor of Delhi from the son of Dalit community.
“LG should complete the process of mayoral election as soon as possible and let a Dalit son become the mayor of Delhi. If this does not happen, then Dalit community will teach BJP a lesson,” said Kuldeep Kumar, AAP leader and MLA from Kondli.
Kuldeep Kumar said that the DMC Act 1957 says that in the first year, a woman will become the mayor of MCD and in the third year, a person from the Dalit community will become the mayor. The Aam Aadmi Party had declared Mahesh Khichi from Dalit community as its candidate for the post of mayor and his victory was also certain considering that we have majority, but the anti-Dalit BJP did not allow the election to be held.
Kuldeep Kumar said in a press conference at the party headquarters on Thursday that the people of Delhi, fed up with the misrule of the BJP in MCD for 18 years, ousted it from power and formed the government of the Aam Aadmi Party in the Municipal Corporation.
“Under the DMC Act 1957, a woman is made the mayor in the first year, while in the third year this post is reserved for a person from the Dalit community. According to this, a person from the Dalit community was to be made the mayor for 2024-25. This is their constitutional right. Having a majority in the MCD, the Aam Aadmi Party declared Mahesh Khichi, who comes from the Dalit community, as the mayoral candidate. It was clear that this time too Delhiites were going to get a Dalit mayor. But sadly, when the mayoral election was to be held on April 26, when a person from the Dalit community was to be made the mayor, the anti-Dalit BJP cancelled the election and stopped the son of a Dalit from becoming the mayor,” he stated.
The Kondli MLA said that the BJP has not only insulted the Dalits, but has also violated the DMC Act 1957, which gives the right to a person from the Dalit community to become the mayor for one year. The BJP and its LG are snatching the rights of the people of the Dalit community of Delhi. The sons and daughters of the Dalit community sit on this post and work to take their community forward. Now it has been four months, and the anti-Dalit BJP has snatched four months from the Dalit community’s mayor.
“The BJP and LG should stop snatching the rights of Dalits and complete the process of making a Dalit’s son the mayor, so that Mahesh Khichi can become the mayor of Delhi,” he demanded.
Kuldeep Kumar said that the anti-Dalit BJP used to talk about ending Baba Saheb Ambedkar’s constitution even earlier. They wanted to destroy the constitution because it protects the rights of the Dalits and gives them the right to live a life with dignity. The provisions that Baba Saheb Ambedkar has made for the benefit of Dalits in the constitution.
He added that the people from the BJP hate it and that is why they want to end it. Now they are also violating this DMC Act, which gives a son of a Dalit community a chance to become mayor. The BJP should understand that if it tries to tamper with the country’s constitution and DMC Act, then we will not sit silent. The BJP has already wasted four months of time. Elections should be held as soon as possible and a son of the Dalit community should be made the mayor. “If no action is taken on this, then Dalit community and Aam Aadmi Party will take a big step in future,” Kuldeep Kumar asserted.
At the same time, AAP MLA from Trilokpuri, Rohit Mehraulia, said that the BJP’s mentality has always been anti-Dalit. The Constitution of the country and the DMC Act give a chance of representation to the Dalits and backward classes, disregarding which, the Mayor election scheduled for 26th April was postponed. This shows that the people of Delhi, fed up with the 18 years of misrule of the BJP in MCD, gave majority to the Aam Aadmi Party.
“The Dalit community of Delhi had voted one-sidedly for the Aam Aadmi Party, and now BJP is trying to snatch the rights of Dalits. The people of Delhi and the country are seeing the negative attitude of the BJP towards Dalits. We will fight this battle and will ensure that the Dalits get their right of representation,” he stated.
At the same time, AAP’s mayor candidate Mahesh Khichi, Councillor from Devnagar, who comes from the Dalit community, said that the mayoral election was to be held on 26 April. According to the rule, a person from the Dalit community is made the mayor in the third term of the MCD. Despite the Election Commission giving permission to hold the election, the anti-Dalit BJP did not allow the election to take place.
“The LG cancelled the election 3-4 hours before the election, giving the excuse of not getting any suggestion from the CM. Whereas before this, LG had not sought the advice of the CM for nominating 10 councillors and appointing the presiding officer. It is clear from this that the BJP and LG are working together against the Dalits. They do not want a person from our community to become the mayor and do good for the Dalit community. The Dalit society will give a befitting reply to the BJP in the upcoming assembly elections,” he said.
