Jagdish Tytler

NEW DELHI: Even as Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil on Thursday briefed the Union Cabinet about the situation on the sealing issue in the capital, the former Union Minister and Member of Parliament from Delhi Sadar, Jagdish Tytler, appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to "save Delhi" from the crisis it was facing.

In a letter to the Prime Minister on Thursday, Mr. Tytler said the crisis was due to the sealing drive being carried out on the orders of the Supreme Court.

Lakhs are facing unemployment and thousands of businesses have come to a complete halt. Some schools are also being sealed. Where will the children go and what will they do?

The sealing drive has affected thousands of families who have school-going children. What was even worse is that even residential properties where people are residing are being sealed, he claimed. "This crisis needs to be contained. A kind hand is the need of the hour,'' he said, and concluded with an appeal to "please" save Delhi.

Mr. Tytler is the second MP after Union Minister for Science and Technology Kapil Sibal to speak out against the drive.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has said the drive would continue and court orders implemented at any cost.

Mr. Patil is understood to have informed the Union Cabinet about the court orders and the action taken by the Monitoring Committee. He is learnt to have apprised the Union Cabinet about the sentiments of the elected representatives of Delhi and the Congress on the issue and the steps being taken by the Union Urban Development Ministry to address the issue of notification of the new Master Plan for Delhi 2021. The Cabinet is also understood to have discussed approaching the Supreme Court again on the issue but no final decision has been taken.

The apex court had during the last hearing rejected the applications of the Union Government and the Delhi Government.

Any attempt to go back to the court on the same plea would be disastrous, it was felt.

The Union Urban Development Ministry was asked to submit a detailed note on the issue. The matter is likely to be raised by the opposition BJP and other parties during the winter session of Parliament starting November 22.

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