Delhi Congress to hold Mahapanchayat against "illegal" sealing drive in south Delhi

The Congress' Delhi unit Monday said it will hold a mahapanchayat next week in which people from 365 villages will participate to protest the "illegal" sealing drive by the BJP-ruled municipal corporations in the city.

Senior Congress leader Mukesh Sharma, who is also the convener of the party's 'Nyay Yudh' campaign against the sealing drive, said their agitation will only intensify in the coming days and "we will force the BJP and the AAP to find a solution to the illegal exercise that has resulted into a livelihood crisis for lakhs of Delhiites".

"In the next phase of the campaign, we will hold a mahapanchayat of 365 villages at Rangpuri in South Delhi on September 23 to decide the future course of the agitation," he said.

The Congress leader claimed that the support generated by 'Nyay Yudh' has rattled the BJP and the AAP.

About Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari breaking the lock of a sealed house in Gokalpuri Sunday, Sharma said he was enacting a drama.

"Tiwari broke the lock of a house that was sealed by the corporation's veterinary department. It had nothing to do with the sealing drive being monitored by the Supreme Court-appointed committee," he claimed.

A senior BJP leader said the party gives "full respect" to the Supreme Court- appointed monitoring committee on sealing, but the role of "corrupt" officials who were adopting "pick and choose policy" on illegal constructions also needed to be probed.

The Congress and the AAP have made no sincere efforts to find solutions to the problem of illegal constructions and encroachments, he said.

The monitoring committee chief, KJ Rao, said the matter will be reported to the Supreme Court.

The committee has also sought a report from the municipal corporation concerned over the entire incident.

Tiwari had Sunday said he will not even spare the BJP-ruled municipal corporations in matters of "pick and choose" action in sealing drive.