BJP doing politics over garbage in Delhi, says AAP

MCD workers met Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and agreed to call off their strike after Sisodia told them that the government has released funds for their salaries.

New Delhi, Jan 10: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday accused the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) of doing politics over garbage in Delhi, at the cost of health and lives of the capital's citizens.

Talking to reporters here, AAP's Delhi Convener Dilip Pandey said when the BJP controls all the three Municipal Corporations in Delhi, they should be held responsible for the crisis due to civic employees' strike.

"We have always owned up responsibility and answered questions over issues that come under our jurisdiction. But one needs to ask questions to the BJP as well on the issues for which they are responsible," Pandey told reporters.

"The BJP is doing politics over garbage at the cost of lives and health of Delhiites. There should be no politics when it relates to the health of the citizens," he added. Pandey said the Delhi government gave almost two-and-half times the fund to the Municipal Corporations of Delhi (MCDs) compared to earlier governments.

"Then why are the sanitation workers not being paid their salaries? Have the salaries of MCD's employees increased by 2.5 times over the last two years or has the number of employees increased?" he said. "If the money paid by the government is not being given to the employees, where is the money going? The BJP-ruled MCDs are exploiting the sanitation workers," the AAP leader alleged.

Pandey added that MCD workers met Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Monday and agreed to call off their strike after Sisodia told them that the government has released funds for their salaries. "Most of the employees resumed work on Tuesday. But one section of the MCD workers is still on strike due to political reasons," he said.

Meanwhile, a section of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (North MCD) employees also went on strike on Tuesday over non-payment of salaries. United Front of MCD Employees General Secretary Rajendra Mewati told IANS that employees joining the protest include sanitation workers, engineers, teachers and gardeners, among others.

He said the staff have not received their salaries for the last two-to-four months.

IANS