The Hindu : New Delhi News : BJP plans stir against Sheila Government

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 03, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

BJP plans stir against Sheila Government

By Our Staff Reporter

Harsh Vardhan

NEW DELHI, NOV. 2. Promising a new era in Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party, its newly-elected president, Harsh Vardhan, today declared that his party would soon launch a mass movement against the Sheila Dikshit Government for its "misrule'' during the past ten months.

"The last ten months have been a tale of broken promises including failure to get Statehood for Delhi, protect the interests of lakhs of industrial labourers and entrepreneurs and harassment of rural people through the new house tax regime. The new team of young and enthusiastic office-bearers of the Delhi BJP at the mandal and district levels are raring to go against the Government for following anti-poor and anti-people policies. The people of Delhi have been gifted with additional tax burden, enhanced power tariff and poor administration for having voted the Sheila Dikshit Government back to power once again,'' Dr. Vardhan told a press conference today.

Charging that both the United Progressive Alliance Government at the Centre and the Sheila Dikshit Government in Delhi have given nothing but misrule and burdened the people with taxes, Dr. Vardhan said his party would soon launch a mass movement against the Delhi Government. Sounding a warning note, Dr. Vardhan informed that after the hike in the power tariff and increase in taxes, including the enhanced road tax, the common man would now have to shell out more money for travel. The Delhi Transport Corporation was planning to hike bus fares despite the fact that there has been no increase in the CNG fuel charges for the past three years. Similarly, he said the water tariff was also being revised under pressure from the World Bank and another "gift'' would be an increase in sewer charges as well as charges of the civic amenities which are hardly functional. Promising to put in place a new team of office-bearers that would have a blend of young and old, Dr. Vardhan said instead of providing adequate drinking water to the people of Delhi, the Sheila Dikshit Government was focussing on making liquor freely available by liberalising the excise policy rules under pressure from the private lobby and the liquor manufacturers. Instead of improving the living standard of the poor and down trodden, the focus of the Government was on promoting night life and night clubs putting the security and social system of the city under strain. In view of the indifferent attitude of the Sheila Dikshit regime, the BJP leader said time had come to take up the people's cause and launch a statewide movement against the unpopular and unwanted decisions of the Congress Government.

Lashing out at the Sheila Dikshit Government, Dr. Vardhan said the Bhagidari scheme of the Chief Minister was a big farce that was aimed at fattening the pockets of certain influential people with State funds. It was a different thing that Bhagidari had hardly made a difference to the lives of the people of Delhi except for promoting or benefiting a few individuals. He also indicated that the Delhi BJP intends to take up the issue of faulty house tax regime on a big scale and warned that the saffron party would not allow construction of the slaughterhouse at Ghazipur in East Delhi.

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