AAP protests for pending salaries of MCD workers

Councillors of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), led by senior leader Durgesh Pathak, on Monday joined employees of the three municipal corporations (MCDs) outside Civic Centre building to protest against non-payment of pending salaries.

Pathak, who is AAP’s MCD in-charge, along with a bunch of other party members and councillors, was later detained by Delhi Police.

“We demand that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) release the salaries of MCD workers within the next week. If you (the BJP) cannot run the MCD, then please resign and hand it over to the AAP. The Arvind Kejriwal-led party will run it better in the same budget. It has been about six months that the employees of the corporation have not got their salaries,” Pathak said.

He further said that the AAP will continue to protest until the BJP-ruled MCDs settle the salaries of all its employees.

The BJP, however, denied AAP’s allegations and said the Kejriwal led party was making baseless claims to garner support from the people of Delhi ahead of municipal elections. MCD elections are scheduled some time in April, 2022. The BJP had managed to win a majority in all the three civic bodies during the last polls held in April 2017.

Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta said the AAP government had not given MCD its dues till now.

“As per the Delhi municipal corporation act, 2012, the Delhi government is bound to release annual municipal funds by June 30 every year. But till date, the AAP government has not even released 26% of the allocated funds for 2020-21,” he said.

‘SANJAY SINGH DETAINED TO SUPPRESS AAP’S VOICE’

AAP chief spokesperson and Greater Kailash MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj on Monday said the Uttar Pradesh government detained AAP Raya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Sunday, when he went to meet the family of former UP MLA Nirvendra Mishra, who died after allegedly being beaten up in the presence of police officers.

“The YogiAdityanath government has registered 13 different FIRs against Sanjay Singh to terrorise him and yesterday (Sunday) they detained him. This is just to terrorise him and to stop his voice, because he is talking about the rights of Dalits and Brahmins in UP,” Bhardwaj said.