Former Delhi Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj on Saturday accused her successor Sheila Dikshit of taking “inhuman decisions” pertaining to steep rise in power tariff and attempts to privatise water distribution system in Delhi at a meeting of over 400 RWAs here.
Flanked by party national general secretary Vijay Goel and Delhi BJP president Vijender Gupta, Ms. Swaraj said the Chief Minister should tell the people of Delhi “who has allowed her to loot the people on the issue of water supply after the loot in power tariffs”.
The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said Article 21 of the Constitution of India guarantees fundamental right to life to every citizen of the country. “Food and water are the basic requirements of life. The Government is only the trustee of water resources and so selling water to foreign companies is a violation of the Constitution, insult to the Indian religious scriptures and fraud with the poor people,” she asserted.
Ms. Swaraj also noted that while the Supreme Court has castigated the Congress-led Government at the Centre for not distributing the food grains properly due to which large quantities are rotting in warehouses, “the anti-people Congress Government is busy commercialising water distribution”.
Mr. Gupta, who presided over the meeting, said the BJP fully rejects the move to privatise water distribution. He said the presence of such a large number of representatives of various associations at the Talkatora Indoor Stadium was itself testimony to their suffering and their desire for a change in governance.
Mr. Gupta said people should unite to force the hands of the Congress to decrease the power tariff and withdraw privatisation of water.
He said “in the water policy 2012 directed by the World Bank it has been stated that water should be treated that as a commodity; hence its supply should be done with the objective of profit. The price should be based on cost and be increased constantly.”
Mr. Gupta said the BJP would not allow such a policy to be adopted in a country where 77 per cent people do not have resources to even buy sufficient food. “How will they be able to purchase costly water?”
Mr. Goel, for his part, said in 14 years of her rule, Ms. Dikshit has not been able to provide drinking water to 30 per cent people and 40 per cent of the citizens are still without a sewer system.
He cautioned that if the water privatisation move was allowed to come through, then the day was not far when water in Delhi will be sold at Rs 50 a litre.
Keywords: BJP accuses Sheila, New Delhi, power & water in Delhi
