MC officials harassing traders on encroachment pretext: BJP

District BJP president Rajnish Dhiman reacted sharply against the high-handedness being meted out to shopkeepers and street vendors by Municipal Corporation officials during the festive season.

While addressing a press meet, Dhiman lashed out at the AAP government and said the coercion by Municipal Corporation officials against shopkeepers and street vendors, allegedly at the behest of AAP government representatives, was reprehensible.

Shopkeepers and street vendors wait all year for Diwali so they could earn during the festive season and support their families. However, the high-handedness being displayed by the Municipal Corporation officials nowadays was unbearable.

Dhiman said Diwali was a festival of joy, with an atmosphere of happiness everywhere. But the way corporation officials were harassing shopkeepers this time had cast a shadow over their celebrations.

He asked why the AAP government’s representatives did not notice encroachments on roads for the past over three years. He questioned if MC’s Tehbazaari Department officials were in a deep slumber for the past few years that they did not see encroachments on roads. He asked on whose behalf Municipal Corporation officials were threatening the shopkeepers.

The BJP leader said the MC officials had no concern for city’s cleanliness. Piles of garbage everywhere mock the Smart City Project. At the same time, broken street lights and poor roads cause several accidents daily. The officials did not see these issues. They only see encroachments on roads nowadays.

BJP district vice-president Naval Jain and press secretary Satish Kumar were among those others present.