Arvind Kejriwal criticised the State Election Commission (SEC) over the postponement of announcement of the civil polls schedule in Delhi. He said forcing “cancellation of elections” is unprecedented, unconstitutional and bad for democracy. Kejriwal wondered what kind of pressure was put on the state election commissioner SK Srivastava, who is retiring in April.
He said he fears the country will become “weak” if the parliamentary system is scrapped in favour of a presidential system.
The poll watchdog cited a letter from the Centre about a possible unification of the three municipal corporations as the reason for the delay.
The Election Commission of India (SEC) has postponed the announcement of dates for the elections for the three municipal corporations in the state. An SEC official underlined the polls have not been cancelled, postponed or deferred. The election process normally takes about 30 days and hence the commission has sufficient time to conduct the elections well before the expiry of the term.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), one of the largest local bodies in the world, was trifurcated in 2012 for administrative efficiency. The BJP has dominated the civic polls since then and is expected to do so again this year.
Complete News Source : Hindustan Times
