New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday (August 19) said that the BJP has completely ransacked the MCD under its rule and led it towards bankruptcy. They said the BJP recently sold off a prime property worth 200 crore rupees in the Chandni Chowk area for a meager 34 crore rupees. The land in question was the site of the famous Novelty Cinema and was one of the most high-profile properties of the area. To protest this “daylight robbery”, the Aam Aadmi Party gheraoed the BJP headquarters today.
AAP's National Secretary Pankaj Gupta stressed that the BJP is aware that it is going to badly lose in the upcoming MCD elections, so they want to fill their pocket by selling public properties through the MCD and that the people of Delhi want facilities to be provided in MCD in the same way that the Arvind Kejriwal government has provided electricity and water to the people of Delhi.
Leader of Opposition of North MCD Vikas Goel said that BJP has ransacked the MCD, led it to bankruptcy after committing "scam over scam". Leader of Opposition of South MCD Manoj Tyagi said that BJP has estimated its defeat to be certain in MCD elections and thus sold Novelty Cinema land worth Rs 200 crores for just Rs 34 crores to fill its own pockets.
Earlier, AAP workers led by National Secretary Pankaj Gupta raised slogans at the BJP Headquarters, protesting against the sale of Novelty Cinema. The Aam Aadmi Party demanded that the BJP-ruled MCD withdraw its decision to sell the Novelty Cinema land and till the demand is not fulfilled, the party will continue to protest and make the people of Delhi aware of their rampant corruption. The protest was peaceful.
During the gherao of the BJP headquarters, Aam Aadmi Party's National Secretary Pankaj Gupta said, “BJP is ruling the MCD in Delhi and their model of governance is so bad that in the last 15 years they have not even been able to source enough income to run their own projects, pick up the piles of garbage and manage the MCD. The condition of their schools is terrible. The condition of their hospitals is disastrous. The entire Delhi is watching all of this.”
“Now the situation has reached such a point that whatever land is left with them, they want to sell all these properties before the next elections and fill up their own pockets with dishonest money. All this because they know they are going to be badly defeated in the upcoming elections. We want to take this issue to every citizen of Delhi and tell them how BJP has been committing corruption in MCD. The people of Delhi are seeing all this and now want to bring in Kejriwal’s model of governance to the MCD as they brought it to the state,” he said.
AAP MLA Kuldeep Kumar said, “In the last 15 years, the BJP has cheated the people of Delhi through their disastrous rule upon the MCD. Be it illegal collection on lenders, whether it is the management of garbage, the BJP-ruled MCD has failed throughout. Now they have sold the land of Novelty Cinema worth 200 crores to their loved ones for just Rs 34 crores. This is the same BJP that does not have money to pay salaries to their employees. They don't have money to take up projects. But they have money to commit scams and steal from people.”
“They have only stolen from the people in the last 15 years. Other than that, nothing has been done under their rule. They are leaving the MCD as the most corrupt department. People of Delhi are unhappy because of this. The people of Delhi want the Kejriwal model to come to the MCD as well. The people of Delhi want facilities to be provided in MCD in the same way that the Kejriwal Government has provided electricity and water to the people of Delhi, because MCD has become a den of corruption. They have made up their minds and want to get rid of the rampant corruption of MCD. The Aam Aadmi Party will expose this corruption and tell the people of Delhi how scams are being committed by BJP,” he said.
North MCD Leader of Opposition Vikas Goel said, “The Aam Aadmi Party has repeatedly told the people of Delhi through the media that the Bharatiya Janata Party has been committing scam over scams in MCD for the last 15 years. Be it the medicine scam, whether it is scams through the mountains of garbage, scam in mid-day meals -- BJP has brought its scam-oriented everywhere. In 15 years, MCD has continuously cried that neither can they pay salaries to the employees nor are they able to give pensions to elderlies. There are no medicines in the hospitals. Children are not getting books. The BJP has completely bankrupted the MCD.”
Vikas Goel said that while leaving the MCD, BJP's eyes are now on MCD's properties. “BJP started it with Novelty Cinema. Novelty Cinema is a historical property. BJP has sold it for just Rs 34 crore. There are many other markets around it, including the tyre market, where the price of a 100-meter shop is Rs 34 crore, and they have sold 1200 meters of land for just Rs 34 crore. This is a huge scam. They have sold this land to their own people at throwaway prices to fill their own pockets. Apart from this, these people are constantly coming up with proposals to sell many other such lands. Aam Aadmi Party will oppose it from the ‘sadak’ to the ‘sansad’. The Aam Aadmi Party will bring this scam of the BJP to the public and will force them not to sell any public property. This land belongs to the MCD, but the property has been maintained on public's tax money. By selling these properties, BJP people want to fill their pockets. The Aam Aadmi Party will continue to oppose it,” he said.
South MCD's Leader of Opposition Prem Chauhan said, “This character of BJP is absolutely unbearable. The Aam Aadmi Party is opposing it with full force. Apart from this, these people are ready to sell many other properties too. BJP’s corrupt rule of the MCD is not at all tolerable. The Aam Aadmi Party with the people of Delhi will uproot BJP from MCD”
Apart from this, Manoj Tyagi, Leader of Opposition of East MCD, said “The BJP has been sitting inside MCD for the last 15 years and is continuously doing corruption. Today the MCD has come to the verge of debt of crores of rupees. There is not a single rupee left with the MCD to pay salaries to their employees. The people of Delhi have told BJP that they are going to be kicked out from the MCD in the coming elections and because of it they are now running a factory of corruption. While going from MCD, BJP has chosen to earn money by doing corruption. BJP's thinking is that if you sell the properties of the MCD, then big money will come home to them.”
He said the BJP did similar work in East MCD. “The garbage collection which EDMC used to do for Rs 70 crore annually has been given to a private company for Rs 250 crores. We have repeatedly opposed this in the Standing Committee and Ward Committee. Some BJP councillors are also not happy with their work, but the top leadership of BJP is involved in this corruption. That's why BJP councillors are compelled to shut their mouths,” he said.
