Delhi Sealing: SC's relief to traders is short-term

New Delhi, Nov 27: BJP Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha V K Malhotra today described the two-month relief granted to traders from the sealing drive by the Supreme Court as ''short-lived'' and said it would benefit only about 30,000 out of the seven lakh traders in Delhi.

The apex court has granted relief only for a two-month period from November 31 till January 31 and ''thereafter nothing is going to happen'' to help the traders, he said in the Lower House during a discussion under Rule 193 on the situation arising out of the sealing drive in the national capital.

''Two months relief amounts to postponement of a death sentence for a period of two months,'' he said, and wondered how it would benefit the traders.

Blaming the Government for mishandling the sealing issue, the BJP leader said if the Government not moved the Supreme Court for securing the MCD's right to seal establishments, a panic situation would not have been created.

''The Delhi High Court had disallowed the MCD's right to seal properties, but the Government had gone on appeal against the court's order in the apex court which upheld the MCD's right to seal the establishments,'' Mr Malhotra pointed out.

However, Minister for Urban Development Jaipal Reddy intervened to clarify that the MCD already had the right to seal shops. It was a subject matter of dispute between the DDA and the MCD, he added. ''While the law did not confer on the DDA the power to seal, the MCD enjoyed this power.'' Mr Malhotra said the BJP's fears and warnings given to the Government on the sealing drive had turned out to be true even though Mr Reddy was maintaining that his party was unnecessarily creating a scare and the situation was under control.

UNI

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