The Delhi BJP on Friday urged Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung to order an inquiry into allegations of extortion rackets being run by a few AAP legislators in their constituencies.
Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta alleged that ration shop owners and other traders were being forced to give “weekly” or “monthly” pay-offs- in the name of party donation - to the local AAP legislator to avoid harassment.
Addressing a press conference, Gupta gave the instance of Adarsh Nagar constituency where some ration shop owners alleged that the area MLA Pawan Sharma demanded Rs 20,000 per month from them. Sharma dismissed all allegations as false. “There is no extortion. There are some people who are voluntarily paying donation to party through cheque.” Gupta alleged the MLA’s henchmen were threatening the ration shopkeepers that their licence would be confiscated and shop closed if they did not pay up.
He said there are 33 ration shops in Adarsh Nagar constituency and as many as 30 shopkeepers got rid of the extortion threats by giving a cheque of Rs 3,100 each.
When Sharma was asked if figure of Rs 3,100 ring a bell in his mind, he said: “People donate different amounts starting from Rs 1,000, therefore, I cannot recall who all paid Rs 3,100 each.” Gupta said the shopkeepers who initially resisted the MLA’s alleged bid to extort money were threatened by food and supplies department officials with notices for allegedly not opening their shops in time, not writing information on notice board, not distributing ration to all eligible ration-card holders, not giving a cash memo and other lapses.
The BJP leader also referred to similar alleged pressure on traders of Bhajan Pura Tanki Road market to pay party donation to the AAP MLA.
Published 14 May 2016, 04:15 IST