#DELHI CONGRESS WORKERS HOLD DEMONSTRATIONS IN ALL THE 14 DISTRICTS TO PROTEST AGAINST THE AAP AND BJP GOVERNMENTS, HOLDING THEM RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MCD EMPLOYEES’ STRIKE.

On Feb 1, 2016

DELHI CONGRESS WORKERS HOLD DEMONSTRATIONS IN ALL THE 14 DISTRICTS TO PROTEST AGAINST THE AAP AND BJP GOVERNMENTS, HOLDING THEM RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MCD EMPLOYEES’ STRIKE.

AJAY MAKEN WARNS THE APP AND THE BJP THAT CONGRESS WOULD SPREAD ITS DEMONSTRATIONS TO ASSEMBLY AND WARD-WISE IF THE MCD ISSUE IS NOT SOLVED IMMEDIATELY.

NEW DELHI, Jan. 31—Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Shri Ajay Maken blamed the Aam Aadmi Party Government in Delhi and the BJP Government for the present plight of Delhi as the MCD sanitation workers and others have been on strike due to non-payment of their salaries. The District Congress Committees of all the 14 districts of Delhi today organized demonstrations against the AAP and BJP Governments to protest against the pathetic conditions in Delhi. Thousands of Congress workers, holding banners and playcards, and distributing phamplets protested against the AAP Government and the BJP across the city due to the worsening condition of the Capital because of the strike by the MCD employees. A large number of women and old people also participated in the demonstrations. Shri Ajay Maken said the people of Delhi were suffering due to the fight between the AAP and BJP Governments. The effigies of AAP and BJP were also burned.

Shri Maken, addressing Congress demonstrations at various districts such as Adarsh Nagar, Karol Bagh and New Delhi, said when the Congress was in power in Delhi for 15 years out of which BJP had been ruling the MCD for 10 years, the Congress never troubled and allowed the MCD to suffer fund crunch, and the MCD workers did not have to resort to strikes or dharnas even for a single day to get their wages. He said the Congress Government went out of its way to help the MCDs so as to ensure that the people did not suffer. The District Congress workers also held demonstrations at Chandni Chowk, Tilak Nagar, Najafgarh, Rohini, Kirari, Patparganj, Krishna Nagar, Mehrauli, Badarpur, Babarpur and Karawal Nagar.
Shri Maken said the AAP Government had made tall promises like regularizing the ad hoc employees, providing free WiFi connections in Delhi, but did not fulfil any of its promises. He said he would take “sanyas” from politics if it was brought to his notice that even if two ad hoc employees had been regularized, and even if a single instance of free WiFi connections had been provided in the Capital. He said the pension of the retired DTC employees was stopped and the pensions of widows and the old people had not been paid for the past many months, as the promises made by the AAP have been proved hollow. He said the streets and other parts of Delhi were now filled with mounts of garbage due to the strike by the sanitation workers of the MCDs for the non-payment of their salaries, and the AAP and the BJP Governments had not done anything to solve the issue. He said it was the fourth time in the last one year that the MCD sanitation workers and other category of employees had struck work due to non-payment of their salaries.

Shri Ajay Maken said it was a travesty of justice that the MCD sanitation workers have been facing such a fate under the hands of the AAP Party whose election symbol was broom, and they had run after the AAP during the Assembly elections believing that their interest would be protected by a party which wields broom as its election symbol, but ironically the AAP Government was beating the MCD sanitation workers to submission with the same “broom” now. He said the BJP, which was taking pride in its “Swach Bharat Abhiyan”, has now turned Delhi into a very big garbage dump under the party’s rule at the Centre and the MCDs. He said the inability of the AAP and the BJP to provide efficient governance, and due to their politicking, people of Delhi have been put to tremendous hardship and suffering.

Shri Maken said the AAP and the BJP have ruined Delhi and the AAP Government was obsessed only with its self-publicity. He said while the budget for Kejriwal’s self publicity has gone up by 2400 per cent, the devolution of funds to the MCDs has come down by 21.45 per cent and as a result, Delhi was suffering.(The chart of the budget allocation for the three MCDs is enclosed).

Shri Maken said when Congress was in power in Delhi, and when such a situation had arisen, the Congress Government sanctioned Rs 322 crores under the Wages and Means account for the MCDs to tide over its financial crisis, and Rs 150 crore for Municipal Reforms. Shri Maken asked Kejriwal why there was no money to pay the wages of the MCD employees and the pensions, whereas he was making changes in the law to pay monthly salary of Rs 3 lakh to each MLA. He said while the common people had to obey the odd-even rule, the Kejriwal Government decided to give Rs 12 lakh to each of its MLAs so that they could buy two cars of Rs 6 lakh each to beat the odd-even rule. He said this was the same Kejriwal who had claimed that the AAP MLAs would not avail of office space from the Government and also official vehicles, but rules were changed to sanction Rs 35,000 per month as rent for the MLAs to hire offices and houses. He said while the people of Delhi and the country were burdened by price rise, the Kejriwal Government has made changes in the rules to allow the MLAs to draw Rs 3 lakh per month, and Rs 15 lakh for five years, as travel allowance to make jolly jaunts.

Shri Maken said it was indeed very sad and shameful that Kejriwal has money to splurge on its MLAs and Rs 526 crore have been earmarked for its self publicity, but he has no money to disburse the pensions of the deserving and the needy.He wondered how could the AAP MLAs sleep in peace when the MCD employees have not been paid their wages for the past four months. He said when the JJ clusters had been demolished at Shakurbasti, Shri Rahul Gandhi had rushed there to take up their cause and get them justice. He said during the Congress rule, Delhi had not suffered such a pathetic plight as the Congress Government had ensured that people did not suffer on any account.

Shri Ajay Maken warned the AAP and the BJP that the Delhi Congress would spread its agitations against them to Assembly and ward-wise if they did not immediately solve the problems plaguing the MCDs.