Resignation drama: Cong Councillors told to withdraw resignations

New Delhi, Nov 13 (UNI) Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee Chief Rambabu Sharma today directed the majority of the Congress councillors, who had sent their resignations to the Leader of the House to express solidarity with traders over sealing, to withdraw their papers in "public interest".

''I have asked the 94 Congress Councillors who have sent in their resignations to the Leader of the House that they should take them back as en masse resignations at this juncture would bring the ongoing developmental works to a standstill and halt the process of identifying and notifying additional roads as commercial or mixed use roads to give relief to the traders,'' Mr Sharma told mediapersons here.

Mr Sharma, who addressed the press meet along with Leader of the MCD House Jitender Kochar, said the Congress Councillors had this morning sought his advice on whether to send their resignations to Delhi Mayor Farhad Suri. On this, he directed them not to press with their resignations.

''The work of identifying and notifying more roads as commercial or mixed use roads by the MCD, for the traders to carry out their business activities needs to be done so that authorities concerned should notify the same and traders get the benefit of the same.

To achieve this, it is essential that they remain in their positions and get it approved from the Standing Committee and get the same passed in the House,'' Mr Sharma said.

Also, there were still many areas where development work was going on for the welfare of the general public and the Congress was committed to get these works completed.

Lauding the Congress Councillors and MLAs for the efforts taken by them to give relief to traders from sealing, Mr Sharma said, ''on the sensitive issue of sealing, neither the Congress, Delhi Government or the Central Government have spared any efforts nor will spare any such efforts in getting relief to traders and smalls shop owners. Infact, to get relief from the sealing drive, the Centre and MCD have approached the Supreme Court today once again.'' Dismissing the criticism by the opposition BJP that the Congress Councillors were afraid of facing elections, Mr Sharma said, ''the Congress is ready to face the polls. Polls will be held in time.'' Following the direction by the DPCC chief, it is only a matter of time before the Congress councillors, who had submitted their resignations on the sealing issue withdraw them.

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