AAP, BJP battle on bus marshal issue in Delhi

The Delhi assembly passed a resolution on September 26 demanding the reinstatement of the bus marshals, agreeing that the BJP and AAP legislators will visit the LG together on October 3

A war of words broke out between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday on the reinstatement of bus marshals. The former claimed that BJP legislators agreed to cooperate for a visit to lieutenant governor VK Saxena’s house on the day to request reinstatement, but the latter questioned the AAP’s motives behind the move, terming the government’s actions an eyewash.

A bus marshal in action, in 2019. (HT Archive)

Later in the evening, AAP legislators were detained as they joined a group or marshals who were protesting at Chandgi Ram Akhara, located near the LG’s office. Among them were Saurabh Bharadwaj, Imran Hussain, Dilip Pandey, and Rakhi Birlan.

Speaking at the protest site, Bharadwaj said, “Thousands of bus marshals, who have been struggling for more than a year without income, are gathered here today with a simple demand—justice. These individuals have families to support, rent to pay, and children to educate. Despite the assembly’s resolution, their plight continues, and the LG has shown no willingness to address the issue.”

AAP said that despite their peaceful behaviour, police cut off essential services, such as power and water, in an attempt to intimidate the protesters.

The Delhi Police did not respond to a request for comment.

In a press conference earlier in the day, AAP leader Dilip Pandey said the LG office did not give an appointment to the AAP delegation for the meeting, “leaving thousands of families in distress.”

“Yesterday, we informed the BJP so that we could go and meet with the LG together, according to the resolution (passed in Delhi assembly on September 26). We expected them to tell us what time we could meet him (the LG) on October 3. But the LG office’s refused, on the grounds that we didn’t explicitly ask for a time slot. So, today, Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, who introduced the unanimously-passed resolution in the assembly, has sent a letter to the LG asking for a time,” Pandey said at a press conference at AAP headquarters.

Leader of Opposition (LoP) Vijender Gupta said the AAP was “doing drama” on the reinstatement of bus marshals. “Not a single MLA, minister or leader from the AAP met the LG with a proposal for the reinstatement of the marshals, nor sent any to the LG. No Cabinet note has been prepared, and no Cabinet meeting has been called for the reinstatement of the marshals,” Gupta said.

The Delhi assembly passed a resolution on September 26 demanding the reinstatement of the bus marshals, agreeing that the BJP and AAP legislators will visit the LG together on October 3 to seek their immediate reinstatement.

The LG did not respond to a request for comment.

Around 10,000 bus marshals were sacked in November 2023 and it has remained a key political issue since.

In 2015, the Delhi government deployed civil defence volunteers (CDVs) as bus marshals, but the state revenue and finance departments raised objections in 2013, noting that CDVs could only be deployed during natural disasters, leading to the discontinuation of their services from November 2023.

On Thursday, Pandey said the BJP should not break their promise of visiting the LG with the AAP MLAs when the LG schedules a meeting. “Let’s meet and sign the necessary papers, and give these families a Diwali gift so they can celebrate in peace. If this is not resolved, these families will curse you,” Pandey said.

However, BJP’s LoP Gupta questioned the AAP’s motives.

“AAP leaders are merely making hollow promises to mislead and confuse the marshals, pretending to show sympathy towards them. The BJP is determined to reinstate these 10,000 marshals, which is why a proposal to reinstate and regularise them was presented by the BJP legislative party in the assembly. However, the government’s indifferent attitude is disappointing,” Gupta said.