AAP, BJP claim victory over deployment of terminated bus marshals

New Delhi: Both the AAP and the BJP in Delhi on Thursday claimed victory over the decision to deploy terminated bus marshals on pollution mitigation related duties for four months across the national capital starting November 1.

The bus marshals who were terminated in October 2023 will now be re-employed as civil defence volunteers to support the government’s anti-pollution measures in the national capital, as per an order issued by Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena.

Addressing a press conference, Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj called the move a victory of the struggle of the bus marshals and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government.

“The struggle of the bus marshals and Arvind Kejriwal’s hard work has yielded results. The BJP-led Central government had to bow down as these volunteers will now be given jobs for four months to help mitigate pollution in the national capital,” Bharadwaj said.

The bus marshals will now assist the government in implementing the anti-pollution measures in Delhi, he added. Bharadwaj also accused the BJP of doing “shoddy” politics which led to the loss of volunteer jobs, and claimed that the Delhi government would make efforts to ensure the marshals receive permanent employment at the end of the four-month period.

Praising the bus marshals, many of whom staged protests after losing their jobs, the AAP leader emphasised their vital role in the government’s previous environment protection efforts. The BJP also welcomed the move and accused the AAP government of “misleading” the volunteers. BJP MLA and Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Vijender Gupta, said, “This not only marks a victory for the BJP but also exposes the AAP government which was deliberately misleading them (bus marshals).”

The AAP government continuously misled these volunteers as they could not be reinstated solely as bus marshals since they were temporarily recruited as civil defence volunteers for disaster management purposes, Gupta said. According to a Raj Niwas official, the lieutenant governor, who is also the chairman of Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), has advised the city government and the chief minister to come up with a concrete scheme based on due process for the future engagement of these civil defence volunteers at the end of the four-month employment period. The scheme -- to be prepared by the Delhi government for regular employment of civil defence volunteers -- will include details of their deployment, budgetary provision, financial approvals, post creation and reservation norms, he said.