Councillors withhold cheques to coax pensioners to join Advani rally

Senior citizens, widows, divorcees, disabled individuals and others dependent on the state for welfare pensions will have to wait a little longer for their cheques.

Senior citizens, widows, divorcees, disabled individuals and others dependent on the state for welfare pensions will have to wait a little longer for their cheques.

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To ensure that they are each able to bring five busloads of people to LK Advani’s BJP rally, MCD councillors have decided to withhold the pension cheques to coax the public into joining the movement.

The councillors had allegedly been told that they would have to bring in people for the rally — to be held on November 20 — if they wanted tickets again.

“We need at least 250 people to fill-up five buses. In order to get these people, I have told pensioners to join the rally if they want their cheques,” said an MCD councillor, who did not wish to be named.

A senior BJP leader in the MCD confirmed that several councillors were following this move to bring supporters to the rally. BJP MLAs, on the other hand, have been asked to bring in 10 busloads of people to the rally. “An area has a fixed number of BJP supporters. Both BJP councillors and MLAs are in a fix on how to arrange so many people,” said the leader.

Each councillor will also have to pay Rs15,000 to the rally fund.

Pensioners were to receive cheques for three months.

Vijender Gupta, BJP president, Delhi, has, however, called the allegations “baseless” and said there was no compulsion in bringing in supporters.

“It is an internal party matter and each segment of the party has to contribute according to its capability. But there is no compulsion,” he said.

Commenting on the withholding of pension cheques, he said, “The party has nothing to do with this. Some people are trying to backstab the party by spreading such news.”