Garbage workers' strike in Delhi ends

Rahul Gandhi hits out at AAP govt and BJP led Centre

After the high court intervened on Friday, garbage collection workers in the areas of New Delhi east of Yamuna, ended their 12-day strike.

This was after the HC directed the Delhi government to issue enough money to pay the salary arrears of East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) employees (and those of its North Delhi counterpart), followed by the Lt Governor (LG) clearing the release of the required Rs 493 crore.

Earlier, the agitation by the ‘safai karmacharis’ had Congress party Vice President Rahul Gandhi rushing to the EDMC headquarters and joining in their ‘dharna’. Assuring them support, Gandhi attacked the central and city governments, run by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), respectively, accusing them of leaving workers in the lurch and shifting the blame on each other while failing to deliver on “tall promises”.

The Lt Governor met the mayors of all three municipal bodies, assuring them of getting the salaries disbursed and asking them to get the striking employees back to work.

The EDMC was the worst affected on salary dues but the other two civic bodies also have a problem in this regard, though far less so in the relatively affluent South Delhi Municipal Corporation.

While issuing notices to the Centre, Delhi government and EDMC, the court directed release of employee salary dues by Monday.


Warning of the threat of an epidemic, the HC directed the agencies to sit together and resolve the stalemate.

The BJP also runs Delhi's three elected municipal corporations. All three accuse the AAP government of denying them their share of central and Delhi money; the city government says they're unable to run things efficiently, and in any case, the BJP-run central government is sitting on money it is supposed to pass on to it.

Also, in recent weeks, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been running a vocal war of words and wills with Najeeb Jung, the LG, also accusing the latter of acting like a BJP election agent. The Centre has been backing the LG, who has issued a series of orders restricting the Kejriwal government's authority.

In a press release, the LG said, "This (return to normalcy) will be in the greater interest of the citizens of this great city that belongs to all of us."

Of the funds cleared by the LG, Rs 326 crore is to be issued to North Delhi Municipal Corporation and the rest for EDMC.

Rahul Gandhi had surprised many when he rushed to EDMC headquarters at Patparganj on Friday morning and sat on a dharna with the striking workers for two hours. He assured them he was supporting their protest against the AAP and the Centre.

"You go to the Delhi Government, it says Centre is responsible. You go to the Centre, it says Delhi Government is responsible. "These are all excuses and you will not get anything till you show your strength. And, I want to make it clear that I will take your responsibility," he declaimed. "You're going to get nothing from the governments, be it the Centre or Delhi."

 As the safai karmacharis cheered, Gandhi described the workers as soldiers and assured them he'd come to sit with them for even 15 days whenever they called. The Congress was wiped out of all the Parliament and legislative assembly seats from Delhi last year; it is trying to remain relevant with involvement on topical issues.