AAP clicks 2,500 dirty pictures, wants clean-up

Puts pressure on civic bodies to get their act together

The Aam Aadmi Party leaders submitted over 2,500 photographs of garbage waiting to be cleared to the mayors of all the three municipal corporations on Tuesday.

The photographs were sourced from AAP supporters through party’s Whatsapp helpline number, which was announced two days after launch of Swachha Bharat Abhiyan.

“People from across the city have sent these photographs on the AAP helpline. The party has now also started posting these photographs on its website,” AAP said in a statement.

Claiming that it has supported the Prime Minister Narendra Modi ‘Clean India’ campaign, the AAP said the ‘final responsibility’ for keeping Delhi clean rests with the BJP-ruled MCD body. 

Senior party leaders Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Ashutosh along with some AAP MLAs met the mayors of the East, North and South Municipal Corporations of Delhi at the MCD headquarters, urging them to adopt a “zero tolerance policy against unclean city”.

The three city mayors, however, said the civic agencies removed more garbage since the announcement of the special cleanliness drive.

The North Corporation claimed that garbage removal has gone up to 3,500 MT from 2,800 MT, while the East Corporation said it has scaled-up garbage collection to 2,700 MT from 2,000 MT. The garbage collection has increased from 2,700 MT to 3,500 MT, claimed the South Corporation.

“The BJP has been ruling the MCD for seven years and the state of cleanliness is there for all to see, but the AAP is of the view that let’s not squabble over the past and in keeping with the PM’s call, let there be a policy of zero tolerance against unclean Delhi,” the party said.

‘The AAP will continue to monitor the work of garbage cleaning across the city and will encourage photographs to show what is the current state, since this is an undisputable evidence,”  AAP statement added.

The Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay said all the office bearers of his party, including the BJP MPs, will rope in social activists, intellectuals, sports persons, doctors and artists to participate in the Swachha Bharat Abhiyan and spread awareness about it.
All the BJP leaders will nominate nine prominent persons each, who in turn will further nominate nine more people, the party said. The party chief will name his nominees on Thursday.

But taking a sharp view on AAP’s campaign on cleanliness, Upadhyay accused the party of indulging in “negative politics”. He said, “The campaign has just started and the government and corporations know that much has to be done in this field.”