AAP moves SC against State Election Commission's announcement deferring Delhi civic body polls

New Delhi, Mar 17: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday approached Supreme Court seeking directions to the State Election Commission to conduct Municipal Elections in Delhi in a free, fair and expeditious manner, without any interference from the Central government.

The plea was filed after the SEC indefinitely deferred the MCD elections citing a communication from Lt Governor Anil Baijal conveying that the Centre was intending to pass legislation to merge the three municipal corporations of Delhi.

Last week, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allow MCD elections to take place in the national capital, saying postponing polls weakens the democratic system.

His remarks came after the Delhi State Election Commission sought the advice of legal experts if it can still hold polls for the three municipal corporations following a communication from the Centre for their unification.

The Commission, after receiving the communication, had deferred the announcement of poll dates for the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation and the East Delhi Municipal Corporation.

Kejriwal had also urged the prime minister to ensure that the elections take place.

"With folded hands, I urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi to let the elections happen. Governments come and go. The country is important and not political parties. If we pressure the Election Commission, it weakens institutions. We should not let the institutions weaken since it weakens democracy and the country," he said.

All three corporations in the city are currently ruled by the BJP, which has been controlling the civic bodies since the trifurcation of the erstwhile unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) in 2012.