Rajesh Kumar | New Delhi
A major political establishment of the national Capital, the Delhi Assembly, does not think the death of 70 innocent person in the building collapse at Lalita Park in Laxmi Nagar area to be important enough to be taken up for discussion during the upcoming winter session beginning from Tuesday. No notice to this effect has been given to the Assembly Secretariat either the opposition BJP or the ruling Congress members or any independent MLA.
Top sources said total 64 notices from both Congress and BJP members have been received for short duration discussions that include corruption in the Commonwealth Games, failure of authorities to prevent adulteration of food, corruption in allotment of stalls, vendors by MCD, traffic problems and situation arising due to discontinuation of development works in unauthorised colonies, shortage of drinking water, lack of basic facilities by MCD, civic body's failure in sanitation and problems in rural and urban villages.
Strangely, the ‘insensitive’ political establishment did not include the issue of building collapse, which claimed 70 lives in Lalita Park area last week for short duration discussion even.
Though BJP members Dr SCL Gupta, Kulwant Rana and Anil Jha had suggested discussion on the issue of failure of Delhi Government to check unauthorised construction and death of 70 persons at Laxmi Nagar building collapse but it was not short-listed by the Business Advisory Committee.
BJP chief whip Saheb Singh Chauhan and MLA Manoj Shokeen are the BJP members of the Business Advisory Committee which is headed by Delhi Assembly Speaker Dr Yoganand Shastri. MLA Surender Kumar and Kanwar Karan Singh are the members from the ruling party.
It's reflects how political establishments in Delhi are insensitive over the death of poor people. Following the incident, Delhi Government had blamed BJP-ruled MCD for the incident while MCD had pointed fingers at the government. Both Congress and BJP have shrugged off the responsibility saying that they are not responsible for the incident. The building collapse at Laxmi Nagar has brought to the fore the struggle of the poor for a roof as over 70 families, mostly labourers from West Bengal and Bihar, were living in the cramped quarters of the 15-year-old building.
When asked, Shastri said that he has not received any notice pertaining to Laxmi Nagar building collapse that's why the issue was not mentioned for discussion. "By and large, we had received 64 notices for short duration discussion for the session and out of them we have selected five issues for short discussion discussion," said Shastri, who also presides over BAC.
Asked about why the principal opposition party did not insist for a discussion on the collapse, Delhi BJP president Vijendra Gupta alleged that the ruling Congress party is avoiding discussion on this issue. "The issue was put up by the BJP members but it was overruled by the Speaker," he alleged.
Asked why the issue did not figure, ruling party Chief Whip Kanwar Karan Singh, who is the member of the BAC, said that the party would take up the building collapse issue during the debate in the corruption in MCD on November 30. Congress MLA Mukesh Sharma, Devender Yadav and Prahald Singh Sawhney would initiate the discussion. He alleged that no BJP legislator issued any notice for a discussion on the collapse.
Terming the non-inclusion of the building collapse issue as unfortunate, senior leader and former Delhi BJP president Dr Harshvardhan said in the bargaining between ruling and BJP members in BAC, the issue must have got neglected. "It is very unfortunate. I hope the issue will be brought to the House through other mechanism," he said.
Meanwhile, think-tanks of the ruling Congress party told The Pioneer on the condition of anonymity that the Opposition would be thrown out of the House if they would not allow the proceedings.
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