AAP demands reinstatement of sacked bus marshals

Civil volunteers were deployed as bus marshals starting in 2015, but the state revenue and finance departments, in early 2023, objected to their engagement, noting that the same could only be done during natural disasters and calamities

Delhi minister Atishi on Wednesday urged lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena to immediately reinstate bus marshals who were sacked in November 2023 on what she termed as “frivolous grounds”, calling for the move on humanitarian grounds as it “adversely impacted the security of women and children in public buses”.

A bus marshal on duty, in 2019. (HT Archive)

“The bus marshals were primarily deployed through the pool of civil defence volunteers (CDVs) of Government of NCT of Delhi. Surprisingly, eight years after the implementation of this scheme and its successful functioning, in a completely unforeseen move, their salaries were suddenly stopped on your orders,” Atishi said in a letter addressed to LG Saxena on Wednesday.

“The main argument given was that the arrangement of deploying CDVs as bus marshals was not sustainable as there are adequate safeguards, such as CCTV cameras and panic buttons, in buses. Sir, how can installation of CCTVs and panic buttons in buses serve the purpose of having an armed person? We strongly recommend reinstating these CDVs as bus marshals for safeguarding our passengers,” Atishi said.

CDVs were deployed as bus marshals starting in 2015, but the state revenue and finance departments, in early 2023, objected to their engagement, noting that the same could only be done during natural disasters and calamities. Their services were terminated in November 2023.

On Wednesday, several AAP leaders, including minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, joined a group of former bus marshals for a protest near Raj Niwas. “Aam Aadmi Party stands with you in this fight. The BJP-imposed LG has devastated your families by snatching away the jobs of thousands of bus marshals,” Bharadwaj said.

The AAP leader called on the protesters “to teach a lesson to the BJP” in the upcoming assembly election.

Atishi said that during their engagement, bus marshals prevented many untoward activities from taking place in buses and created a positive and friendly environment for commuters.

However, the Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said chief minister Arvind Kejriwal ordered the dismissal of bus marshals as their six-month salary was overdue and they started protesting. “Today, with elections around, AAP leaders like Saurabh Bhardwaj are shedding crocodile tears for bus marshals. For the last year, no minister of the Kejriwal government or AAP leader spoke a word for bus marshals and even today, their appeal to bus marshals is to vote for them without offering any job solution,” Sachdeva said.

The BJP leader said the Kejriwal government did not follow administrative guidelines before enrolling them in service. “The government very well knew from the beginning that they have not followed any service rules and the moment an inquiry comes around, they will lose their jobs; but, it never made any effort to get administrative requirements fulfilled,” Sachdeva said.

The LG office did not respond to request for comment.