The Hindu : New Delhi News : Merit not recognised, allege Congress Councillors

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 03, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Merit not recognised, allege Congress Councillors

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, JUNE 2. Senior secondary educated Praveen Messy, whose expertise is in beauty parlours, has been nominated by the Congress high command to head the important Law Committee of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and would be dealing with highly qualified advocates taking up MCD cases in various courts including the Supreme Court.

The matriculate Jagdish Pradhan has been chosen for the crucial Health Committee and would be responsible for primary health care, while Class VIII educated Zameer Ahmed Munna has been nominated for the Sanitation Committee and Tarsem Bansal, educated up to senior secondary, would be the Community Services Committee Chairman.

Upset with the decision of the senior party leaders to sideline them from the civic body's activities, a large number of young and educated Congress Councillors have now decided to register their protest with the party high command and lodge a complaint against the leaders in the MCD. The group, which has been holding regular meetings for the past few days, alleged that there was no scope for talent and merit in the MCD this year.

"We are finding it suffocating to work here. We are fast getting disillusioned with the functioning of our leaders in the MCD," one of them said. It is probably for this reason that, Farhad Suri, the Congress Councillor from Nizamuddin, refused to take up any responsibility in the MCD till there was a system in the party in which merit was given recognition.

"What else can you do when a medical doctor like Anita Babbar, Councillor from Tilak Nagar, would be deputy to a matriculate while dealing with issues on health," said one of the Councillors. "At a time when the senior party leadership is promoting youths and roping in the young brigade at the national level, the Councillors, who were prominent leaders of the Delhi University Students' Union, have been completely sidelined this time," said another Councillor. Among such Councillors are Shalu Malik, Neeraj Basoya, Nitu Verma, and Sanjay Puri.

"If we are not found suitable enough to handle the Law Committee, Education Committee, Health Committee and Sanitation Committee, then it is better we withdraw from politics. The undeserving ones are being promoted for political compulsions," he said.

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