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BJP discovers East Delhi's neglect
By Sujay Mehdudia
NEW DELHI, JAN. 21.
People in the Capital's trans-Yamuna area have been deprived of all basic civic amenities. The roads are in a bad shape, schools run by the MCD are in a state of neglect, basic sewerage facilities are lacking, drains are a major cause for spreading of disease and there is lack of proper power and water facilities.
This is not a chapter from the Congress manifesto. But, surprisingly these have been highlighted in the memorandum submitted to the Union Home Minister, L.K. Advani, by East Delhi BJP leaders led by the area MP, Lal Behari Tiwari.
They called on Mr. Advani to impress upon the need to form a separate Corporation for East Delhi and then hold elections to the civic body, a situation which could cost the party dearly. This sudden hype over a separate corporation for trans-Yamuna area conveys an impression that the BJP is desperate, and trying all tricks to get the MCD elections postponed. In their quest to achieve their ulterior motives, the BJP leaders have not even spared their own Corporation.
But the manner in which the issue is being addressed has left little doubt that the saffron brigade, finding the going tough, is turning its back on the electoral battlefield. And it has fallen upon the former Chief Minister, Madan Lal Khurana to run the dirty tricks department.
Although, the decision to rake up the issue of a separate body for East Delhi might make sense, any move to delay the polls would certainly show the party in poor light.
Insiders in the party said this had also created sharp differences within the party and many leaders including the Delhi unit president, Mange Ram Garg, and MCD leaders differ from Mr. Khurana and his group. They feel any deferment would spell doom for the party.
They plead the work done during the last two months would certainly go in favour of the BJP. But such voices have been bulldozed by the hawks within the party who are bent upon derailing the democratic process. And in this whole gameplan, the BJP-led Centre and especially Mr. Advani are playing a big role.
Interestingly even the BJP acknowledges that it failed to do anything substantial during its tenure in MCD, a fact highlighted in the manifesto submitted to Mr. Advani. It has pointed out that people of East Delhi have been discriminated with regard to municipal facilities. This is contrary to the claims of the BJP leaders that massive development was undertaken in East Delhi and a large number of projects were initiated and completed. The reference to shortage of power and water is the only point which stands against the Sheila Dikshit Government.
As for Mr. Tiwari, at no point of time, when he was Minister in the previous Delhi Government or as a Member of Parliament, did he publically seek a separate Corporation for East Delhi. Suddenly, Mr. Tiwari has woken up to the fact that East Delhi needs a separate Corporation and this should be done even if the democratic process has to be stalled. In fact, it was the BJP Government which created the Trans-Yamuna Development Board.
If the preivious BJP Government's intentions were genuine, they could have formed a separate Corporation instead of a Board. All this seeks of malice as panic seems to have set in the BJP camp over their electoral fortunes.
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