Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia reiterated the Aam Aadmi Party’s promise to remove residential property tax and arrears if his party wins the April 23 municipal corporation elections in the Capital. BJP rules the three municipal corporations.
However, AAP’s main competitors BJP and the Congress criticized the tax waiver declaration that chief minister Arvind Kejriwal made on Saturday. The move cannot be executed without Parliament amending the Delhi municipal corporation act, said the parties said.
But then, Sisodia refuted the criticism at a media briefing in his home. His government has done due diligence before making the declaration, he added.
“For abolishing house tax in Delhi we do not need to go to Parliament. It was before 1993 that amendments were made to the act. After that, amendments and even the last one in 2011 were made without going to Parliament,” he said.
Numerous amendments to the 1957 act that governs the municipal corporations of Delhi, were made after 1993 without seeking the Parliament’s approval. He asked people not to believe “rumours spread to mislead them”.
