Maurya accuses SP of delaying municipal polls

Lucknow, Dec 15 Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has blamed the Samajwadi Party (SP) for the delay in holding elections to the urban local bodies.

His statement comes after the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday extended the stay on declaring the date for the polls till December 20.

"SP is using the brother of a prominent SP leader to place hurdles in the election process since SP does not want the polls to be held on schedule. The BJP and the Yogi Adityanath government are prepared to hold civic body elections on time," Maurya said.

He further said that SP appeared to have no faith in democratic values and also accused the party and its leaders of an anti-Dalit and anti-women mentality.

He said SP was worried about the increasing representation of the deprived sections in local bodies.

"The SP fears that if the elections are held now, it will suffer significant losses. The SP is attempting to raise obstacles in this situation through a prominent party leader," the Deputy Chief Minister said.

It may be recalled that the court is hearing a bunch of petitions challenging the OBC reservation in the local bodies' polls.

Maurya alleged that the brother of a prominent SP MLA was behind at least one of the petitions.

He added that the state government was committed to conducting the polls on time, as per constitutional provisions, adding that it was necessary so that the pace of planned development of cities was not disrupted.

Commenting on the petitions in court, Maurya said while it was one's right to put forth their view before a judge, the intention of the person filing petitions must also be clear.

"The intention of our government is clear. It is working on the policy of 'sabka saath, sabka vikas'. We want to give every deserving person the right of reservation. Now that the matter is sub-judice, the government will follow the order of the court. However, SP knows that its defeat in the local body polls is certain and is therefore trying to create hurdles in holding the elections. Whenever the elections are held, the public will give a befitting reply to the party," he said.

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