NEW DELHI: Once again it has been proved that the common man has been left in the lurch by the politicians who have left no stone unturned to save themselves from clutches of law. The assertion by the Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit that she had helped stall the demolition of BJP legislator Sahib Singh Chauhan's house on Wednesday has shown the political leadership of Delhi in poor light.

Similarly, the manner in which Delhi BJP president Harsh Vardhan, Leader of the Opposition Jagdish Mukhi and some other BJP MLAs raised the matter of demolitions at the house of the BJP leaders including Badli MLA Jai Bhagwan Aggarwal indicated the `selfish attitude' of the leaders cutting across party lines.

No leader in the House except for NCP legislator Ramvir Singh Bidhuri has raised the issue of demolitions and sealing being faced by the common man. The focus has been on how to project the cases of `big fish' and find a way to save their dwellings, majority of which are either unauthorised constructions or have come up on public land without legal sanctity. "The MCD itself has pointed to existence of illegal structures at the residential or other premises of the political leaders including Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and DPCC chief Ram Babu Sharma and had issued them notices. It has been months but nothing has happened and those `illegal structures' continue to exist while those of the common man face bulldozers," a senior official remarked.

However, observers are of the view that the biggest let down has been the Chief Minister whose `alleged nexus' with the BJP leaders as well as officials has been exposed by the recent events.

At the start of the demolition exercise in November, Ms.Dikshit had maintained that law would take its own course even if it meant bringing down structures of politicians. But when her own house at Nizamuddin came under the scanner, the Chief Minister `changed the tone' and started talking about an amnesty scheme.

Similarly, observers point out that when people hit the streets protesting against demolitions and sealing in the Capital, Ms. Dikshit maintained a stoic silence pleading the matter was sub-judice. But she went out of the way to save the `illegal' residential premises of Mr. Chauhan and promised to do the same for another BJP MLA, Mohan Singh Bisht.

"The cat is out of the bag. Mr. Chauhan was siding with the Chief Minister and ridiculing Mr. Bidhuri inside the House in return for the favour by Ms. Dikshit. It has shown the BJP and its leadership in poor light. The talk is that by taking the BJP leaders for a junket to Melbourne for the Commonwealth Games, she had been able to win over her opponents ," a senior BJP legislator remarked.

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