Summary:
New Delhi, Dec 8 (PTI) A day after the AAP claimed that the BJP-led EDMC has asked public worship places to pay property tax, its mayor on Wednesday said that a show cause notice has been served to the official who allegedly made a "clerical error" in the document.
EDMC Mayor Shyam Sunder Aggarwal on Tuesday had rejected AAP leader Atishi"s claim as "baseless" and called it "a poll stunt" of the party ahead of the elections to three civic bodies early next year.
Atishi in a press conference claimed that the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) had asked temples, gurdwaras and mosques in its jurisdiction to pay property tax, threatening to seal their premises if they fail to comply with its order.
BJP state general secretary Harsh Malhotra, in a press conference on Wednesday, said that the AAP and its leaders are now left with no issues and hence, they are "provoking religious sentiments or labelling baseless charges on corporations". Aggarwal, who was also present during the press conference, in response to a question said that an employee of the corporation, who issued this letter "without the corporation"s permission, has been served with a show cause notice and the matter is being investigated to know who all are involved in this matter, who want to defame the corporation and the party".
The official is to respond within 72 hours, he said.
In the notice, a copy of which has been shared by the mayor, he said the dharamshala and temple name has been mentioned with an oblique sign in between, but " we do not take property tax from any temple or any other place of worship".