In a new political twist at the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, 13 AAP councillors resigned from the party on Saturday and announced the formation of a breakaway outfit - Indraprastha Vikas Party - citing stalled development work and growing internal discontent.
Senior councillor Mukesh Goyal, who will serve as the president of the new party, told PTI, "In the two and a half years since our election, no development work has been carried out. The party was too busy with internal conflicts and blame games. We repeatedly raised our concerns with the leadership, but no one listened."
No immediate reaction from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was available.
Goyal also alleged that elected councillors were not allotted budgets to carry out developmental work in their respective wards.
"We want to focus on real work for the people of Delhi. We want the House to function smoothly and ensure that the policies are implemented in public interest," he stressed while clarifying that the move was limited to MCD.
The new outfit will be led by veteran municipal figure Hemchand Goyal and includes other former AAP councillors such as Dinesh Bharadwaj, Himani Jain, Usha Sharma, Sahib Kumar, Rakhi Kumar, Ashok Pandey, Rajesh Kumar, and Anil Rana.
The anti-defection law does not apply to municipal bodies, including the MCD. -- PTI