Mayors stay put at Flagstaff Rd as AAP, BJP spar over protest

The cash-strapped civic bodies have not been able to pay salaries of employees on time with the north Corporation being the worst-affected -- salaries are due under the municipal body for the past three to four months.

Mayors and office-bearers of the three Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled municipal corporations continued to camp outside Delhi chief minister (CM) Arvind Kejriwal’s residence on Flagstaff Road for the third consecutive day on Wednesday, demanding the release of ₹13,000 crore due to the civic bodies. The AAP retaliated and said the crisis was the outcome of “rampant corruption”, “incompetence” and “financial mismanagement” within the civic bodies.

BJP leaders Adesh Gupta, Manoj Tiwari, Gautam Gambhir and all three Mayors of Delhi protesting outside CM Arvind Kejriwal's residence demanding immediate release of funds to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) at Flag Staff Road in New Delhi. (Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO)

The mayors were joined by BJP MPs Gautam Gambhir and Manoj Tiwari, Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta and BJP MLAs. Gupta said, “It is very unfortunate that even on the third day, CM Arvind Kejriwal did not bother to talk to corporation leaders.”

The mayors and councillors said they are not deterred by the cold and will continue to sit there till Kejriwal meets them. “The CM, who has been attending to all other engagements, has not stopped to even address us. This is a fight for our constitutional right,” said north corporation mayor Jai Prakash.

The cash-strapped civic bodies have not been able to pay salaries of employees on time with the north Corporation being the worst-affected -- salaries are due under the municipal body for the past three to four months.

Senior AAP leader and party’s municipal affairs in-charge Durgesh Pathak said, “We will run the MCDs efficiently. The mayors are aware that the Delhi government has given all funds due to the civic bodies and it is because of their corruption that the MCDs are facing this financial ruin.”

The party alleged that the north corporation had waived ₹2,457 crore owed to it by the south corporation, in lieu of rent on office space. “If the south corporation pays this money then for one year, the north civic body will not have any financial issues,” Pathak said.

Meanwhile, south corporation mayor Anamika Singh and Delhi BJP leaders have filed a police complaint against deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and Pathak over the latter allegedly publicly threatening to kill the mayors on Tuesday. The complaint was submitted to deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi) Eish Singhal, which was later forwarded to north district.

DCP (north) Anto Alphonse said, “We have received the complaint. No FIR has been registered, so far.”

Delhi BJP general secretary Harsh Malhotra said, “Everyone has a video in which AAP leader Durgesh Pathak is publicly saying that he will kill the corporation leaders and deputy CM Manish Sisodia trying to calm him down.”

Pathak refuted the claims and said, “Who are we to beat the mayors? However, owing to the things they have done in Delhi, the people of Delhi will definitely beat them….The BJP has a habit of mixing random audios with random videos to defame and malign the image of the people. But they cannot divert attention from the issue of farmers. If they think that they will do all this to divert attention from the farm laws issue, then they are wrong.”