Former bus marshals and their supporters staging a demonstration in New Delhi on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
Hundreds of former bus marshals led by senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Ministers, including Saurabh Bharadwaj, Mukesh Ahalawat, and Imran Hussain, led a march towards the residence of Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena seeking the reinstatement of their services.
However, the police stopped them at Chandgi Ram Akhara in Civil Lines. DCP (North) Manoj Meena said some of the protesters were detained as they did not have permission to hold the march but released soon after.
Speaking at the protest, Mr. Bharadwaj said, “Thousands of former bus marshals, who have been struggling for more than a year without any income, are gathered here today seeking justice. These individuals have families to support, rent to pay, and children to educate. Despite the Legislative Assembly’s resolution, their plight continues, and the L-G has shown no willingness to address the issue.”
On September 26, AAP and BJP had supported a resolution in the Assembly to restore the former bus marshals’ jobs.
As part of the resolution, all Delhi MLAs were to meet at Raj Niwas at 11 a.m. to finalise the reinstatement process, said Mr. Bharadwaj, accusing the L-G of not giving them time to meet and the BJP MLAs of not showing up.
In response, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said the Delhi government is engaging in “political rhetoric rather than addressing the issue”. When reached for comment, Raj Niwas did not respond.
In October 2023, close to 10,000 people who were deployed as bus marshals for the safety of women in public transport buses in the city were rendered jobless after a circular issued by the L-G stated that they had been appointed illegally. Since then, they have been holding demonstrations in the city demanding reinstatement.
‘Tendency for U-turns’
Senior AAP Leader Timarpur MLA Dilip Pandey took potshots at the BJP over “its tendency to make U-turns on its promises” and urged Mr. Saxena to call a meeting urgently to resolve the issue.
On their meeting with the L-G, Mr. Pandey said, “The L-G Office told us that while we had proposed to meet on October 3, we hadn’t sought a specific time from them. So, Saurabh Bharadwaj, who had introduced the resolution in the Assembly to reappoint the former bus marshals, today wrote to the L-G seeking time to discuss the issue.”
‘Don’t blame us’
Mr. Kapoor claimed that the order for the dismissal of the bus marshals was issued by then Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in October 2023. “Now, AAP leaders should refrain from blaming either the L-G or the BJP for it,” he said, adding that the party leaders have often expressed their support for the swift reinstatement of the former bus marshals.
Published – October 04, 2024 01:17 am IST