The Capital’s major political players including the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, on Wednesday, met members of the Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee seeking immediate relief for traders from the ongoing sealing drive.
The all-party meeting with the monitoring committee members, which was held at the Delhi Secretariat, was attended by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari among other leaders.
The panel, however, did not give party representatives any assurance in this regard. The sealing drive by the BJP-run municipal corporations in the Capital was initiated in December last year as per the directions of the apex court-appointed monitoring panel. Commercial premises, including shops and restaurants, were sealed for failing to deposit ‘conversion charges’ according to provisions in the Delhi Master Plan 2021.
The BJP had boycotted the previous meeting in protest against the alleged misbehaviour by AAP leaders and workers with a BJP delegation in January.
Mr. Tiwari attended the meeting along with Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta and Kamaljeet Sehrawat, the mayor of BJP-ruled South Delhi Municipal Corporation.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and AAP MLAs Somnath Bharti and Saurabh Bharadwaj were present at the meeting. Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken was not in attendance but other party leaders were.
Hear suggestions
The committee members, Bhure Lal and K.J. Rao, heard the suggestions and complaints of the leaders during the meeting. “We all wanted an end to the chaos caused by the sealing drive and sought its suspension. But the monitoring committee members did not say anything about it,” Mr. Tiwari said after the meeting.
The parties wanted suspension of the sealing drive with the Supreme Court scheduled to hear, on day-to-day basis from April 2, a case on the proposed amendments to the Master Plan of Delhi by the Delhi Development Authority which was earlier stayed by the court, Mr. Tiwari said further.
Meanwhile, Mr. Bharadwaj said the monitoring committee clarified that sealing of shops was not being done in urban villages, unauthorised colonies and village abadi covered by the national Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act.
“They [panel members] expressed surprise when complaints of sealing in these areas was raised by AAP MLAs and others. They clarified that no sealing of shops is being done in areas covered by the Special Provisions Act,” he said.
Hire top lawyers
The parties also agreed to hire top lawyers for representing the stand of the Centre, the Delhi government and the municipal corporations before the Supreme Court.
Congress leader Aman Pawar said, “We suggested hiring top lawyers to present the stand of the Centre and the Delhi government before the Supreme Court. In 2006-07, best lawyers were hired by Congress government to represent its case in the SC and sealing was stopped.”
