New Delhi, Oct 4 (IANS) Amid the war of words between Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over reinstatement of bus marshals, Urban development minister Saurabh Bhardwaj accused the latter of of betraying thousands of city's bus marshals. He said that it was because of BJP's conspiracy that they were denied their due.
Minister Bhardwaj stated, "The BJP has deceived these 10,000 poor people. They had promised to restore their jobs and all of their seven MLAs had vowed to march to the Lieutenant Governor's house. However, it made a U-turn and refused to accompany the AAP delegation. It is part of their conspiracy to have these bus marshals removed in the first place. That’s why they don't want them reinstated."
Saurabh Bhardwaj, speaking to IANS, also trained guns at BJP leader Vijender Gupta, accusing him of lying on the bus marshal issue.
"Vijender Gupta is a liar. I say this with responsibility – the truth will come out through the videos available on the Delhi Assembly website. He supported the proposal and now he's saying he didn’t agree back then," said the AAP Minister.
"He is essentially calling the entire Delhi Assembly and the Speaker liars, which is a contempt of the House. He could face punishment for this. Earlier also, he had to apologize to the entire Assembly for contempt," he added.
A large gathering of bus marshals, on Thursday held a protest near the residence of Delhi LG, demanding restoration of their jobs. The protest was attended by Delhi Cabinet Ministers Saurabh Bhardwaj, Imran Hussain and Mukesh Ahlawat, along with other AAP MLAs. Several protesters, including Bhardwaj and other AAP leaders were also detained by police.
Commenting on the notice issued to the LG regarding the MCD standing committee elections, Bhardwaj criticised the LG’s approach.
"The LG’s behaviour often leads him to face reprimands in court. After 15 years of BJP rule, Delhi gave a chance to the AAP to lead the MCD. If the BJP tries to form a government in the MCD through backdoor tactics, they won’t be able to fool the court. The misuse of Section 487 has been exposed by the court, and the question remains: Why was the LG in such a rush to conduct these elections overnight?", he pointed out.
Responding to the BJP's accusation that former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal vacated one government building only to move into another, Saurabh Bhardwaj defended Kejriwal, stating, "The BJP is always troubled. He did not resign or vacate under any pressure, he did it of his own accord. If the BJP has the courage, let one of their leaders do the same and relinquish all privileges."
Addressing the recent drug case in Delhi, Health Minister Bhardwaj demanded an investigation into how large quantities of drugs were reaching the capital.
"Drugs in such large quantities reaching Delhi raises questions about which borders they passed through and which officers and governments were responsible for those borders. This shows that many individuals within the system are involved in allowing drugs to reach Delhi," he asked.
--IANS
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