Govt not giving dues to create anarchy: BJP

The AAP, however, said the protest is only an excuse by the BJP to harass chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and distract attention from the nationwide farmers protests.

Mayors of the three BJP-ruled municipal corporations, who continued their sit-in protest outside the CM’s house for the fourth day, said on Thursday that by not releasing the pending funds to the civic bodies, the Delhi government wants to create an atmosphere of “anarchy”.

Ramvir Singh Bidhuri addresses BJP activists and MCD mayors sitting in protest regarding the release of municipal funds, outside Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence in New Delhi. (Biplov Bhuyan/HT PHOTO)

The AAP, however, said the protest is only an excuse by the BJP to harass chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and distract attention from the nationwide farmers protests.

The BJP has decided to hold protests outside residences of all AAP ministers on Friday. Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta and leader of the opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri will meet Delhi L-G Anil Baijal regarding the protest by mayors.

In a joint press conference, North Delhi Municipal Corporation mayor Jai Prakash, South Delhi Municipal Corporation mayor Anamika Mithilesh and East corporation mayor Nirmal Jain said they have been sitting “under an open sky in the cold” to demand the dues of the over two lakh employees engaged by the three civic bodies.

“If we will not be able to pay salaries to our staff, they will be forced to come out on the streets. This is what the Kejriwal government wants. They want to create an atmosphere of anarchy, as elections to the civic bodies are just a year away,” said Prakash.

The AAP said the Delhi government doesn’t owe MCDs. “Even the mayors of BJP-ruled MCDs know that their protest is only an excuse by their high-command to harass CM Arvind Kejriwal and distract from the issue of nationwide farmers protests. The mayors are well aware that Delhi government has given all the funds due and it is because of their corruption and inefficiency that the MCDs are facing financial ruin. Since they have decided to only protest rather then govern, it is best that they resign and let AAP run the MCDs. We will run the MCDs efficiently, within the same budget,” the AAP said in a statement.