‘Delhi govt failed to protect traders’

NEW DELHI: Delhi BJP on Friday alleged that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government completely failed to take concrete steps to protect traders from sealing and claimed that the party stood firmly with the city traders in their hour of need.

Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari, Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta, Lok Sabha members Meenakshi Lekhi, Ramesh Bidhuri, Maheish Girri and Dr Udit Raj on Friday addressed a joint press briefing from the party’s national headquarters.

The BJP leaders condemned Arvind Kejriwal government for failing to take any concrete steps to protect the interests of traders in Delhi. The traders have continued to suffer from onslaught of the sealing drive for months together, but the government has remained a mute spectator.

“For the past three months, the Delhi government has allowed the situation in the capital to run berserk, inflicting pain on the traders/shopkeepers. The Delhi government refused to budge or take any pro-active measures, including approaching the monitoring committee, intervening in the Supreme Court or notifying 351 roads. Instead, it chose to play politics over a matter of public interest,” said the BJP leaders.

The leaders also claimed that the BJP did everything in its capacity to provide relief to the traders.

With the power vested in Delhi Development Authority  (DDA) by the Section 11A of DDA Act, they ensured the passage of amendments in the Master Plan of 2021. This came as a respite to the agitating traders, who had been knocking the doors of the Delhi government, but to no avail. Due to this timely intervention, it halted sealing drive in several parts of Delhi and provided respite to a majority of traders.

“The Supreme Court ordered the sealing drive due to glaring loopholes in the Master Plan of 2021, prepared during the UPA tenure in 2007. Through the amendments passed by the DDA, we tried to fill the gaping holes left by the previous UPA government to some extent,” the BJP leaders claimed.