AAP to contest UP civic polls

Lucknow: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday announced it will contest the upcoming municipal corporation elections in Uttar Pradesh.

AAP leader Sanjay Singh told the media that his party was committed to weeding out corruption from civic bodies and giving people good governance.

Stating that people were already fed up with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state led by Yogi Adityanath, Singh said civic bodies had over the years turned into centres of graft in Uttar Pradesh.

The AAP had serious intent to set things right apart from ending the exploitation of "safai karmacharis", he said.

Elections to 16 civic bodies in the state are likely to be held later this year.

The AAP, he said, would waive house tax if it came to power and would ensure that people got clean drinking water. These and other issues would be part of the party`s election manifesto.

The schools coming under the municipal corporations would be brought at par with private schools by enhancing their standards and the "Mohalla Clinics" started in the national capital would be replicated in Uttar Pradesh as well.

Slamming the Modi government for soaring fuel prices and the burden of taxes on traders, Singh said there was no other country where traders paid so much taxes.