Rivals question odd-even's 'success'

The apparent success of the AAP government’s odd-even plan in the first week seems to have left Opposition parties uneasy and pushed them to attack the Arvind Kejriwal government.

While the Delhi Youth Congress burnt effigies of the Chief Minister and Transport Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday, the BJP plans to complain to Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung on Wednesday that the AAP government is using the car rationing scheme to deflect attention from the “rot” in the administration.

Delhi Youth Congress workers burnt effigies of Kejriwal and Transport Minister Gopal Rai for fooling the people with an odd-even scheme which is yielding no gains.

Youth Congress President Amit Malik, who led the protest in east Delhi’s Babarpur, said the government should roll back the odd-even formula as it has been done in countries that had implemented it earlier and should look at some concrete ideas of Pollution control.

“The government is fooling people by taking Rs1,500 just for a CNG sticker being given to car owners,” he said.

“The volunteers involved in the odd-even scheme are being given a huge sum of money at the expense of tax-payers while commuters are suffering,” said Malik.

While the people are suffering, the Chief Minister is praising himself in TV and newspaper ads, which again is a wastage of people’s money, Malik added.

BJP’s Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta said the Chief Minister is not willing to talk about the anger among the officials and stagnation of work.

Kejriwal is only interested in highlighting the odd-even drive at a time when the officials recently went on a leave over suspension of their colleagues, he said.

“We are going to file a petition with Jung to intervene and save the city from a total standstill in development works and file movement due to officials’ friction with the elected department heads,” said Gupta.

“The city is suffering due to malfunctioning of the Delhi government,” he added further.
The Delhi government has refused to revoke the suspension of two Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service (DANICS) officials despite the direction of the Centre holding the suspension invalid, he said.

“Never before have officials of the Delhi government gone on a protest leave in such numbers as they did on December 31,” Gupta said.

About 200 Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service (DANICS) went on protest leave on December 31 hitting file movement hard in the Secretariat and casting a shadow on the preparations for the January 1-15 car rationing scheme.

Subhash Chandra, special secretary (prisons), and Yashpal Garg, special secretary (prosecution), were suspended by the city government for allegedly refusing to sign on two cabinet notes about hiking the salaries of public prosecutors and prison staff.

Gupta also pointed to reports that the AAP government was no plan of action against Home Secretary S N Sahai over the protest by the DANICS officials.