Former bus marshals staged a protest near the residence of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi on Thursday, demanding reinstatement of their jobs. The protest was joined by Delhi Cabinet Ministers, including Saurabh Bharadwaj, Imran Hussain, and Mukesh Ahalawat, along with other MLAs of the party.
Police detained some protestors along with Bharadwaj and other AAP leaders, citing that they had not taken permission for the protest.
Bharadwaj criticised the delay in resolving the matter and said that the marshals should not be treated like a “football†between political parties.
“We are here in solidarity with the protestors. We are now waiting for the BJP to come and extend support,†he added.
The party earlier in the day accused the BJP of taking a U-turn on the reinstatement of former bus marshals in the national capital.
The recent two-day assembly session in Delhi saw a heated discussion between AAP and the opposition over the termination of bus marshals, with both sides supporting a resolution to restore their jobs.
According to the resolution passed in the Delhi Assembly, all the MLAs of Delhi, both AAP and BJP, were to meet LG on Thursday at 11 am for the reinstatement of bus marshals.
However, no such meeting has taken place. AAP accused the LG’s office of ignoring their request, with Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj claiming that he had written to the LG but received no response.
“According to the resolution passed in the Delhi Assembly, all the MLAs of Delhi were to meet LG today for the reinstatement of bus marshals, but neither did LG Sahab give time to meet nor did the BJP MLAs arrive,†the party said.
BJP and their LG should stop this “cheap politics†and reinstate Delhi’s bus marshals immediately, AAP added.
Responding to the accusations, Delhi Assembly Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta criticised AAP for misleading the public.
Gupta said that when they decided to meet LG on October 3, then why did he not ask for the time?
“Aam Aadmi Party means fraud party. AAP and Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj themselves chose the date to meet LG Sahab. When the time came, the chief minister, ministers, Aam Aadmi Party MLAs, and all the leaders disappeared,†Gupta said.
Last year, LG V.K. Saxena approved a proposal to terminate the services of civil defence volunteers deployed as bus marshals. He also directed the then Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to consider appointing such volunteers in over 10,000 posts of home guards sanctioned by him.
