Delimitation of wards done on basis of caste and religion: Cong's Mateen Ahmed

New Delhi, Nov 13 (IANS) Chaudhary Mateen Ahmed, senior leader of the Delhi state Congress, in a conversation with IANS alleged that the delimitation of wards is being done on the basis of caste and religion by the Lt Governor of Delhi.

Ahmed has been a member from Seelampur Vidhan Sabha constituency for 5 consecutive terms, during which he was also the chairman of the Delhi Wakf Board twice.

He is also a member of the Municipal Corporation Election Committee.

When asked by IANS about the issues which the Congress will raise in the elections, Ahmed replied that the streets in Delhi are in a deplorable condition with streetlights not functioning.

He added that the wards are unclean and the condition of roads in unauthorized colonies is poor.

"The schools are in a bad condition and corruption in Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is at its peak. We are entering the elections focusing on these issues," said Ahmed.

On being asked to comment on the �One-time property tax amnesty scheme', SAMRIDDHI 2022-23, launched by the LG and the Central government under which house tax up to 12 years is being waived, Ahmed said that the scheme was fine but only if it is actually implemented after the elections as many empty promises are made to secure votes.

When asked about delimitation's effect on the MCD elections, Ahmed disapproved of it and said that it was done in an erroneous way on the basis of caste and religion.

Mentioning the example of some wards of his area, he said that areas with Muslim population have been merged with areas with Hindu population. Voters have been randomly placed in the areas.

He added that delimitation on the basis of caste and religion is not right since India is a diverse country.

When asked about the condition of Delhi schools, Ahmed accused the Kejriwal-led government of spreading false propaganda about world class education being provided in government run schools. In reality, the schools lacked good teachers, he alleged.

Ahmed added that the government had recently released vacancies for 500 teachers, which suggested that the schools were struggling since the last 8 years in this regard.

He questioned the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on the aspects that made a school exceptional. He took a jibe at the party by saying that installing tiles on the floor or new windows do not make a school good, it is the teachers that are responsible for the same.

Ahmed added that the AAP and BJP spend a lot of money on publicity and buy votes, saying that these parties won elections by using money.

He claimed that the Congress would go to the public directly to discuss issues regarding development and would then compete in the elections.