NEW DELHI: After initially engaging in a heated discussion over the termination of about 10,000 bus marshals, the ruling AAP and the opposition finally supported a resolution in the Delhi Assembly to restore their jobs on the first day of a two-day session.
The AAP MLAs held the BJP and also Lieutenant Governor (L-G) V K Saxena responsible for the bus marshals losing their jobs and their plight due to a non-payment of salaries.
The BJP MLAs opposed the charge and accused the AAP of doing politics on the issue. Vijender Gupta, Leader of Opposition, alleged that the AAP government had betrayed the bus marshals.
He also proposed that a resolution be passed in the House to restore the jobs of the bus marshals and provide them with “permanent” employment.
Participating in the discussion, minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said the lives of 10,000 bus marshals have been ruined as they have not been paid their salaries. They are unable to meet their basic needs, the minister added. “The salaries of 10,000 bus marshals were stopped in January 2023 because of officers in the transport department who questioned the deployment of civil defence bus marshals because public transport buses had CCTV cameras for the purpose of security,” Bharadwaj claimed.
“If the BJP is ready, we are ready to restore their jobs. A resolution can be passed by the House,” he said. The minister also suggested that the resolution should have a paragraph that both the AAP and BJP MLAs will go to meet the L-G at on October 3 and not return back till the implementation of the resolution is ensured.