BJP leaders meet Rajnath Singh to seek funds

A delegation of BJP leaders met Union home minister Rajnath Singh apprising him about the Delhi government’s working and sought his “intervention” in getting their “rightful” share of funds under the Delhi Finance Commission (DFC) recommendations from the AAP government.

The delegation led by Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay and comprising mayors Subhash Arya (South), Harshdeep Malhotra (East) and Ravinder Gupta (East) urged Mr Singh to take cognisance of “unconstitutional” ways of the Delhi government.

The mayors apprised the Union home minister of the prevailing situation due to strike by sanitation workers and asked him to ensure that the Delhi government releases “around Rs 3,000 crore under 3rd DFC and implements 4th DFC without further delay,” said East Delhi mayor Harshdeep Malhotra.

The 30-minute meeting was also attended by “secretaries of the Union home ministry who were instructed by Mr Singh to talk to top officials of the Delhi government, including director local bodies, to resolve the issues,” he added.

“The Delhi government has indulged in a lot of unconstitutional activities since it came to power, which include depriving constitutional rights of the municipal corporations and bypassing the authority of the lieutenant-governor in its business,” Mr Upadhyay alleged.

“We urged the Union home minister that the Centre should take cognisance of unconstitutional ways of the government. He directed the Union home ministry secretaries, including the UT secretary, to take up these matters with the Delhi government,” Mr Upadhyay claimed.

BJP legislator and Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta was also present at the meeting.

Meanwhile, Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Ajay Maken has also sought an appointment with Union home minister Rajnath Singh to discuss the problems being faced by the three municipal corporations in the national Capital. Mr Maken said the conditional loan sanctioned by the AAP government in Delhi would not find a permanent solution to the problems of the civic agencies, which have witnessed several strikes by the sanitation staff and other category of employees in the past one year.