On Friday, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi pledged not to file a candidate against veteran BJP leader Vijender Gupta in the next elections, but with one condition. During a debate in the Delhi Assembly, the AAP politician stated that if Gupta assists the government in appointing permanent civil defense volunteers (CDV) as bus marshals, the party will not file a candidate against him in the Rohini Assembly elections. “If you get Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena to endorse the request to reinstate these bus marshals, I would push my party not to file a candidate against you in the Rohini Assembly seat. “We’ll even campaign for you,” Atishi stated.
Around 10,000 CDVs who worked as marshals on public transportation buses were fired in November of last year after it was discovered that they had been deployed despite their mandate to serve in disaster mitigation efforts.
When asked about the subject in the Assembly, Atishi stated that her party’s priority is the reinstatement of bus marshals, not an Assembly seat.
Atishi claimed, adding that Vijender Gupta claims the bus marshals were removed at the insistence of then Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
“I’m the Chief Minister now. So, if the Lieutenant Governor values the Chief Minister’s word so much, then get him to support the return of bus marshals,” Atishi said, addressing Gupta.
When opposition lawmakers recently met with Delhi’s Chief Minister to seek the regularization of bus marshals, Atishi stated that she would summon a Cabinet meeting and approve the proposal. She then requested that BJP leaders accompany her to the Lt. Governor’s office for final approval.
The demands of bus marshals
For more than a year, almost 10,000 former bus marshals in Delhi have been clamoring for their employment to be restored. They desire that they be regularized and not utilized as a political tool by parties by providing them with work.