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Will resolve IAF depot issue in 2 years or resign, says Congress’ Gurgaon candidate
Gurugram Congress candidate from the Gurgaon assembly constituency, Sukhbir Kataria, targeted the 70,000-odd people living around the IAF ammunition depot, in a
Gurugram Congress candidate from the Gurgaon assembly constituency, Sukhbir Kataria, targeted the 70,000-odd people living around the IAF ammunition depot, in a 900-metre disputed zone, during his address at Sain Chaupal near the Sheetla Mata temple on Wednesday, promising a resolution to the problem.
“I promise you that the legal status of the disputed area would be resolved within two years of Congress forming the government. If this does not happen, then I will resign from the state assembly and return to fight the battle as a common man,” said Kataria, who seemed to have touched the raw nerve of the crowd.
Many living in the restricted 300-metre zone, which is facing demolition as per the court order, asked him to help. Those in the remaining 600-metre zone complained about non-existent roads, lack of water supply and missing power lines.
The Congress candidate, who reached the venue around 4pm, was greeted with slogans and a traditional ‘pagri’ was tied on his head by members of the Sain Samaj. “He is an accessible leader, who we know about for a long time. He has worked for the city and the community,” said Tejbir, a member of the samaj.
The Congress candidate also called out many locals by their names, hugged senior citizens, took the blessings of older women and greeted the young with enthusiasm. He was also accompanied by Congress leaders Shilpi Arora and Dhirender Pratap, a former minister from Uttarakhand, who asked people to defeat the “divisionary” politics of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and vote for Congress.
Surajbhan Panchal, a senior citizen, who attended the rally in Rajiv Nagar east/west, said that they have decided to support the Congress as local issues have remained unresolved. “We have spent our own money to fix some issues. The local authorities have done nothing. Hospitals and bus stands are in a bad shape and the less said about our area, the better,” said Mahender Singh, president, RWA.
Kataria also said that Congress traverses all caste and class lines when it works for the people. “I have worked for all communities equally and there was no discrimination in developmental work,” he said. Kataria said that he met residents of RWAs across the highway in DLF areas and surrounding colonies, assuring them that their problems related to urban issues would be resolved.
In his interaction with the public, he repeatedly asked people who built Gurgaon as an automobile and real estate hub and promptly got the reply that it was Congress. “We did not shut factories, causing unemployment. Give me a chance and we will bring prosperity again,” he told the public.
