Cong MPs demand edict to stop Delhi demolitions

Taking a cue from Minister of State for Urban Development Ajay Maken to retain the political upper hand in the ongoing court-ordered sealing of commercial establishments in the capital, Congress MPs from Delhi today demanded an Ordinance to stop sealing and demolitions.

They also demanded an immediate halt to the ongoing sealing and demolition of illegal structures.

"It is our firm belief that either an Ordinance or a legislation should be introduced in Parliament forthwith to stop the sealing and demolition of premises for six months," Chandni Chowk MP and Minister of State for Science and Technology Kapil Sibal said.

Sibal, along with other Congress MPs from Delhi, including Krishna Tirath, Sajjan Kumar, Jagdish Tytler and Sandeep Dikshit, issued a joint statement demanding notification of the 2021 Master Plan of Delhi and preparation of a strategic plan with respect to each zone.

The Congress MPs' move seems to be aimed at countering the BJP's attempts to reap a political harvest out of demolitions of former Delhi Chief Minister Madan Lal Khurana and BJP MLA Harsharan Singh Balli to take political mileage out of the situation by openly opposing the sealing operations.

Maken's move to clear a notification regularising a lot of commercial establishments in residential areas also gave them a cue. What this also means is the further marginalisation of Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit.

Sibal said he had raised the matter earlier also and had also sought an appointment with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss the issue. Asked whether the Ordinance, if issued, would lead to a standoff between the judiciary and the executive, Sibal replied in the negative.

"There are ways and means which I will not like to say at a press conference,' he said.

The Delhi MPs also said that a PIL in which MCD was the only respondent without any representation from lakhs of affected citizens was not the best way of handling the issue. The MPs said they felt helpless as they were unable to effectively voice the grievances of the people they represent.