BJP expels 3 councillors over graft charges

| | NEW DELHI
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BJP expels 3 councillors over graft charges

Monday, 20 September 2021 | Staff Reporter | NEW DELHI

Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Adesh Gupta on Sunday expelled three municipal councillors from the party for six years over complaints of corruption.

Gupta termed the action as BJP's "zero tolerance" policy. “BJP has a zero tolerance policy against corruption!We will continue to take action against those who are found involved in corruption,” hetweeted.

The councillors who have been removed from the party over graft charges are Sadulajab councillor Sanjay Thakur in South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), New Ashok Nagar councillor Rajni Babloo Pandey in East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) and Mukherjee Nagar councillor Pooja Madan in North Delhi Municipal Corporation, according to the orders issued by Delhi BJP president.

The move comes ahead of the civic polls early next year where corruption and mismanagement in municipalities is likely to be the main issue.

Delhi BJP Spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said that inclusion of tainted Councilor Pooja Madan into Aam Aadmi Party exposes the dual standards of the party on corruption.

For last three months Delhi BJP was receiving complaints of corruption against Councilor Pooja Madan and she was repeatedly warned before being expelled from the party.

The AAP is the primary opposition party in three MCDs. The civic bodies are set to undergo election early 2022 where Opposition parties (AAP and Congress) will corner the BJP over the issue of "burgeoning corruption".

In 2017 civic polls, the BJP has not given tickets to any of the sitting councillors due to corruption allegations against them.

In last one year many AAP leaders including CM Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia had raised the issues of corruption and mismanagement in civic bodies. AAP leaders had alleged that many BJP councillors were involved in "extortion and other corrupt practices" in all the three civic bodies.

In April this year, senior AAP leader and MLA from Greater Kailash Saurabh Bharadwaj had accused BJP's Saidulajab councillor Sanjay Thakur of being involved in corruption.

Bharadwaj had said that Thakur has a "nexus with local builders" and "extorts money" from common people when they try to do any type of construction in the area.

Similarly, in August last year, senior AAP leader Durgesh Pathak had accused New Ashok Nagar councillor Rajni Babloo Pandey and her kin of "extracting money" from people for illegally building houses in the area.

The party had also released an audio recording between a builder and the councillor's brother-in-law where a man was purportedly heard saying that he had given money to civic officials and also to the councillor's brother-in-law but still the construction was stalled.

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