Statehood for Delhi only solution to sealing logjam:CM tells PM

New Delhi, Nov 16 (UNI) Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Congress MLAs today urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ensure grant of full statehood to Delhi to help resolve the present logjam over sealing and demolition.

Stating that the multiplicity of authorities in Delhi at present had resulted in the situation arising out of the sealing of commercial establishments in the capital, the Chief Minister and the MLAs, in a meeting with the Prime Minister this evening, demanded that Delhi be granted full statehood as early as possible.

''If Delhi had been granted status of a full State earlier, the present problems arising out of sealing and demolition would not have arisen,''the Chief Minister told reporters after the over one-hour meeting.

Ms Dikshit said she told Dr Singh that the absence of full statehood had also brought to a standstill many developmental works in the national capital.

She said that during the meeting with the Prime Minister, the Congress MLAs also demanded that the Master Plan 2021 be send to the Delhi Legislative Assembly for consideration. Also raised was the demand for granting amnesty from sealing to all traders who had set up their commercial establishments till December 31, 2005.

The MLAs said Dr Singh assured them that he would consider their demand for statehood after studying the reports of the Tejender Khanna and the Omesh Saigal committees.

The Prime Minister also assured that the view of the MLAs would be taken into consideration before finalising the Master Plan 2021.

Ms Dikshit said the Prime Minister also called for a joint strategy by the Centre and the State Government to solve the current problems being faced by Delhi.

Prominent among those who were part of the delegation were Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee chief Rambabu Sharma, Delhi Finance Minister A K Walia, Delhi Labour Minister Mangat Ram Singhal and MLAs Vijay Lochav and Malaram Gangwal.

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