Shouting slogans while demanding that the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government release funds to the civic bodies and implement the 4th Delhi Finance Commission report’s recommendations, several BJP leaders, including the three mayors of the municipal corporations and the Delhi BJP chief, were detained by the police near Indira Gandhi Stadium.
The mayors of the three BJP-ruled municipal corporations and party councillors walked from Rajghat to Delhi Secretariat on Monday morning. North Delhi Municipal Corporation mayor Ravindra Gupta said, “The police detained us near the Delhi Secretariat and took us to IP Estate police station from where we were released after some time. We will not let the Kejriwal government sit peacefully unless our pending funds are released and the recommendations of the 4th Delhi Finance Commission (DFC) are implemented.”
A group of councillors, led by Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay, broke the police cordon and rushed towards the Secretariat, but were also detained and taken to IP Estate police station. South Delhi Municipal Corporation mayor Subhash Arya and East Delhi Municipal Corporation mayor Harshdeep Malhotra were also detained. Mr Malhotra said the municipal corporations were facing problems discharging their core functions, like sanitation, basic education and disbursal of old-age pensions, due to a financial crisis caused by the delay in release of funds by the Delhi government.
The Delhi BJP had been demanding that the funds be released but the Kejriwal government had not paid heed, party general secretary and SDMC House leader Ashish Sood said.
“Mr Kejriwal should stop torturing the people of Delhi immediately and release the amount of Rs 2,719 crore under the 3rd DFC and implement the recommendations of the 4th DFC,” Mr Sood said.
The stand of the Delhi BJP and leaders of the municipal corporations over non-release of funds by the AAP government has also been vindicated by a high court order which has asked it to release the funds, he added. A memorandum demanding release of funds and implementation of the 4th DFC recommendations was later submitted to the CM’s office by the protesters.
