New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday (October 31) accused BJP-led MCD of “troubling the Safai Karamcharis” by not regularising them for around two decades.
Deputy Speaker of Delhi assembly Rakhi Birla alleged that BJP is conspiring to “break the spirits of the Valmiki community, the Safai Karamcharis and other MCD employees”. She said that the BJP-led MCD is plotting to weaken them financially and mentally.
Safai Karamchari leader Santlal Chavandia said that he and his coworkers will ensure that the BJP is thrown out of power if their demands are not fulfilled.
Calling it a raging problem of Delhi, MLA Kuldeep Kumar said, “As you all know that in the last 15 years, BJP has been ruling the MCD, in which the BJP has crossed all bounds of corruption. Building on this, the BJP-led MCD has left no stone unturned in troubling the Safai Karamcharis. In the recent House proceedings, our council members and leader of opposition have consistently raised the issue pushing for the regularisation of these Karamcharis. BJP has been promising regularisation in their manifesto since 2012, but when we point out their hypocrisy - we have come to find out that the official agenda in the Standing Committee is that of regularising a mere 500 of these employees. This number is extremely reprehensible given the 6,646 Karamcharis working in the MCD, to whom the BJP has repeatedly promised regularisation. A promise they are ruthlessly breaking. We are here to shed light on how mercilessly unjust the BJP-led MCD is with its employees, especially the Safai Karamcharis.”
Rakhi Birla said, “As Kuldeep ji has mentioned that the North MCD’s Standing Committee has slyly proposed the regularisation of only a handful of Karamcharis. While on ground, there are almost 7000 such employees hoping to get regularised since 2003/2006. But BJP is incessantly misleading the people and their own MCD employees, conspiring to financially and mentally weaken them. This new proposal is another move exposing this BJP’s narrow mindedness and its plot to weaken the Valmiki community. We, at Aam Aadmi Party, are repeatedly advocating for the financial, mental and physical health of the Safai Karamcharis, to help strengthen them. In 2018, for the first time in Delhi’s history, under the leadership of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, a session was held in the Vidhan Sabha regarding this. Following which, a proposal urging the MCD for the regularisation of Karamcharis working since 2003-2006 was passed with consensus in the House, along with paying off the backlog due to these employees. It had also been sent to the Lieutenant Governor. Any and all workers, leaders, etc. of the Aam Aadmi Party are raising their voices for the Safai Karamcharis from the streets, all the way to the Legislative Assembly. And today as well, we warn the BJP-led MCD that all the praises you wish to gauge through this small act of regularising only 500 employees will not work. It will not be tolerated, and we will expose your real motives to the people of your constant exploitation and harassment of the Valmiki community, Safai Karamcharis and MCD employees; all your shallow promises in 2012, 2017 manifestos. Once again you are dangling a lollipop in front of the exploited classes. We staunchly condemn this action - and demand an indiscriminate, scam-free regularisation of all 6,646 employees. All those suffering at the hands of the BJP-led MCD have the Aam Aadmi Party’s unwavering support.”
AAP MLA from Trilokpuri, Rohit Mehraulia added, “BJP’s corruption has once again let down the employees hoping to get regularised for some 2 decades now. The ploy of 500 regularisations that the Mayor and Standing Committee of the BJP-led MCD have brought about is very reprehensible. It will prove to be nothing but an election gimmick for the 2022 MCD elections. It is a ruse to garner votes from the Valmiki community and the Safai Karamcharis. But today the Karamcharis have seen through BJP’s charade and are fed up with their continuous exploitation. People come to us with their grievances and seek help, empathy for their community which they do not get from the BJP. They tell us how the same children that they would leave as 1-2 year old babies back home at 6 am to clean have now reached marriageable ages, but we are stuck. It is a shame for the BJP that they have compelled their employees to work like slaves. Even of the 500 employees to be made permanent, we have been informed of instances that BJP’s ‘Dalal’ brokers are going door-to-door harassing them, demanding money - signalling a major scandal. And so it is our demand that without any corruption, their regularisation to be ensured along with all their backlog being paid off.”
Santlal Chavandia said, “In the last 15 years, the BJP-led MCD and its leaders have completely failed. All the protests and strikes held in Delhi are due to this failure. This new 500-regularisation proposal is another gimmick that my coworkers and I are opposing strongly. Our demand is to regularise all the remaining employees as well, otherwise we will ensure that the BJP is thrown out of power in the upcoming elections. Our campaign will therefore continue from the streets to the House.”
Adding to this, AAP senior leader Kuldeep Kumar concluded, “If the demands for the indiscriminate regularisation of Safai Karamcharis are not fulfilled, then the Aam Aadmi Party will carry out a major campaign against the BJP-led MCD’s exploits - all the way from the streets to the MCD House to the Vidhan Sabha. The current proposal of the BJP’s is the equivalent of ‘Khoda Pahad, Nikli Chuhiya’ - where the Karamcharis had high hopes for their regularisation, but all they received was an election gimmick. I still want to say that there are 5-6 months for the BJP even now - that if they want to really make a change for the better, they must not wait for any manifesto and act now.”
