AAP, BJP trade accusations over sanitation workers

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday alleged that leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are forcing sanitation workers to participate in the ongoing protest

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday alleged that leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are forcing sanitation workers to participate in the ongoing protest by all three mayors outside chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence.

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The BJP dismissed the allegation and said sanitation workers are in distress because of the AAP-led Delhi government.

For the past 10 days, mayors of the three BJP-ruled municipal bodies and party supporters have been camping outside the CM’s residence in north Delhi’s Flagstaff Road demanding funds of ₹13,000 crore which they claim the Delhi government owes the civic bodies. The Delhi government has dismissed the claim.

The protest by mayors began after sanitation workers to stop work if not paid on time.

“The BJP’s dirty politics is quite evident in videos which show BJP leaders blackmailing MCD unions to go on strike and turn Delhi into a “garbage capital”. They are also forcing sanitation workers to join the mayors’ protest outside the CM’s residence,” said AAP’s chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj.

AAP leader Rakhi Birla said, “Most sanitation workers are Dalits and by not paying their wages for around three months now, the BJP has exposed its anti-Dalit face.”

Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said, “The allegations are baseless. It reflects the AAP’s frustration as despite strong provocation by AAP supporters, sanitation workers have not gone on strike even though they are facing hardships. Sanitation and other municipal workers know very well that the AAP government is not releasing funds it owes the municipal corporations. And that is why they are not getting salaries on time. AAP will have to face the consequences in the 2022 municipal polls.”

BJP to hold day-long fast today

The Delhi BJP also said around 40,000 party workers will sit on a day-long fast on Thursday against the Delhi government and demand the release of ₹13,000 crore in funds to the three municipal corporations.

The BJP-led municipal corporations have accused the Delhi government of not releasing funds due to them, thereby leading to a situation where they are unable to even pay employee salaries. Demanding that the government release the pending amount of ₹13,000 crore at the earliest, the three mayors have been staging a sit-in protest outside Kejriwal’s residence for the past 10 days.

BJP workers will also stage a protest outside the Delhi assembly on Thursday to oppose the special session called by the government to discuss the alleged ₹2,400 crore irregularities in the North Delhi Municipal Corporation.

Harish Khurana, spokesperson, Delhi BJP, said, “Around 40,000 party workers will sit on a fast on Thursday from 9am to 5.30pm in support of our mayors. The CM has no time to meet our mayors who have been sitting outside the CM’s residence for over 10 days. Instead of releasing the ₹13,000 crore to the corporations, the government has levelled baseless allegations about irregularities.”

Gupta, who addressed the media along with BJP MPs Meenakshi Lekhi, Gautam Gambhir and Hans Raj Hans outside Kejriwal’s residence, said, “We are challenging the CM to order an inquiry into the alleged scam by any investigating agency. If the charges are not proved, then he must resign.”

In a statement, the AAP said, “Why is BJP showing its double face to the public at large? The AAP wants a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) probe into the corruption in the MCDs, and we protested for the same. When we protested, we were beaten up by police and many party workers were arrested. We demand a thorough probe by the CBI to unearth the truth before the public.”

Chail Bihari Goswami, chairman, standing committee in North Delhi Municipal Corporation, on Wednesday had sent a legal notice to Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain, Delhi Jal Board V-C Raghav Chadha, AAP MLAs Atishi and Sourabh Bharadwaj for “making false allegations” of ₹2,400 crore scam in the north corporation. The corporation in a statement also denied allegations of any misappropriation of funds.

The AAP did not respond for comment on the legal notice.