AAP calls on the removed contractual workers to gather at Jantar Mantar on March 1

Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj says the party will campaign among affected workers over the next two weeks and escalate protests from March 3.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday announced plans to mobilise contractual workers who, it said, have been removed from their jobs under the BJP-led Delhi government. AAP’s Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj called on affected workers to assemble at Jantar Mantar on March 1, stating that the party would raise the issue of what it described as job losses and insecurity among contract staff across multiple public services.

AAP Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj addresses the media in New Delhi on Sunday. The party has called for contractual workers who say they were removed from service to gather at Jantar Mantar on March 1.

Speaking in New Delhi, Bharadwaj referred to several categories of workers that AAP says have been impacted or are at risk, including bus marshals, Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) conductors and drivers, hospital data-entry operators, nurses, pharmacists, and staff linked to Mohalla Clinics. He said the party would conduct outreach over the next 15 days to contact workers whose jobs are “in danger” or who have already been removed, and ask them to participate in the March 1 gathering.

Bharadwaj cited figures during his remarks, claiming that around 400 workers associated with DIMTS were in touch with the party and that AAP intended to speak to “10,000 bus marshals” and “6,000 other employees” as part of its campaign. He also alleged that data-entry operators who have worked in Delhi government hospitals for about 10 years were being removed “one by one”.

AAP said the March 1 mobilisation is intended to demonstrate the number of affected workers and press the government to reconsider decisions related to contractual staff. Bharadwaj urged people to travel to Jantar Mantar on the day of the gathering, noting it would fall on a Sunday.

The party also outlined a plan to step up its protest if its demands are not met by March 2. Bharadwaj said that from March 3, affected workers would put up boards outside their homes with the message: “BJP has taken away my job.” He said the aim would be to make the issue visible within neighbourhoods and among local communities.

Contractual employment in public services and the continuity of such positions have remained a recurring political issue in Delhi, with parties often disputing responsibility for staffing decisions and the regularisation of posts. No response from the Delhi government or the BJP was included in the statement shared by AAP.