BJP councillors, MLAs stage dharna against sealing

New Delhi, Aug 30 (UNI) BJP councillors and the party MLAs today held a dharna in the capital demanding regularisation of all unauthorised colonies in the city and stopping sealing immediately.

Protesting under the leadership of Delhi Pradesh BJP President Harshvardhan, the agitations resolved not to allow the unauthorised colonies to be ''ruined'' on any condition.

Addressing the demonstrators, Dr Harshvardhan said, ''It is the demand of the hour to regularise the unauthorised colonies of Delhi.

The delay by the Congress in this will obstruct the development of the city and lead to acrimony among the people.'' Accusing the Congress of indulging in ''cheep politics'' on the issue, he said, ''this case has become so serious due to negligence that there is danger of displacement of about 40 lakh people. The Congress neither tried to regularise these colonies whole-heartedly nor it properly plead the case in the Court. It is not seriously interested in framing law in this regard.'' BJP National Secretary Vijay Goel demanded the Union Government to take all the legal and constitutional measures to declare all the colonies regularised before starting sealing otherwise the situation ''many become explosive.'' ''If the sealing is started in the colonies then lakhs of people shall be rendered unemployed. The social fabric of Delhi will be destroyed,''he claimed.

Leader of the Opposition in Delhi Legislative Assembly Jagdish Mukhi said the BJP had approved a proposal in the Central Cabinet to regularise these colonies in the year 2004 itself.''At that time the Congress put the proposal in cold storage only to take political advantage. Had Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit shown a little humanity and sensitivity, all these colonies would have become developed. The sword of sealing may not have been hanging over them,'' he said.

Leader of the House in MCD Subhash Arya said the MCD wants that all the unauthorised colonies should be regularised. Hence by passing an amending resolution it has forwarded the proposal to the Centre for being implemented. ''Now the Congress Government at the Centre should regularise the colonies so that the sealing may not be taken up there,'' he said.

The Chairman of the Standing Committee Vijender Gupta said people coming from outside and settled in Delhi were playing a significant role in the development of Delhi.

''People of unauthorised colonies have greatly contributed in the development of the capital. They should get special facility, but due to vote bank politics of the Congress the people of the unauthorised colonies have been forced to live in inhuman conditions,'' Mr Gupta said.

UNI