Congress Delhi chief slams Atishi for neglecting bus marshals

New Delhi : The Delhi Congress on Saturday launched an all-out attack on the AAP government for neglecting the issue of re-employment of nearly 10,000 out-of-job civil defence volunteers (CDVs)/bus marshals.

Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee chief Devender Yadav said that the Aam Aadmi Party government has been shedding crocodile tears for the sacked CDVs but not doing much to re-hire them for pollution control duties.

“It has become clear that Chief Minister Atishi failed to honour the direction given by Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena on October 24 to re-employ CDVs from November 1, 2024, for deployment in enforcing pollution control measures,” said Yadav.

The Delhi Congress chief, in a statement, said, that AAP legislators had created a hue and cry during the two-day session of the Delhi Assembly last month by raising the issue of out-of-job marshals but their government has failed miserably to act on the sensitive issue.

They even passed a joint resolution demanding the re-employment of the marshals who were sacked by the Kejriwal government, he said.

Yadav said that AAP leaders also created a big drama when Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj fell on the feet of Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta, pleading with him to accompany AAP leaders to meet the LG to take up the bus marshals’ case.

Despite the decisions taken in the meeting, nothing much was done in official files, he said.

Yadav said that Atishi did not pay heed to the letter written to her by the LG, directing her to re-employ the CDVs/bus marshals by November 1.

This was clear proof that the AAP government only indulged in cheap political gimmickry without having any intention to either re-employ the marshals or combat air pollution, said the Delhi Congress president.

The Congress leader also targeted Atishi and former CM Arvind Kejriwal for repeating a slew of promises, which Kejriwal could not fulfil in the past 10 years.

The two assured Delhi residents to fulfil all the pending tasks in the next four months before the Assembly election but those promises have remained only on paper, with the roads staying in a dilapidated condition, air pollution soaring to new highs and Yamuna water getting poisonous with the Chhath Puja just five days away, Yadav said.

He said that the AAP government has not taken any steps to ensure that lakhs of devotees hold the puja in fresh, clean waters by creating separate Chhath Ghats.