The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has accused the Commissioner, Municipal Corporation of Delhi of not de-sealing the shops at the behest of the BJP-led Central Government despite the order of the Supreme Court’s judicial committee.
A large number of shops in Delhi have remained sealed since 2017, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) asserts that the MCD commissioner, acting under the influence of the BJP-led Central Government, is adamantly refusing to de-seal the shops despite the judicial committee’s orders and a resolution passed in the MCD House.
Senior AAP leader and Delhi’s Cabinet Minister Shri Saurabh Bharadwaj stated that on December 18, 2023, the judicial committee of the Supreme Court declared sealing unlawful and ordered that conversion charges cannot be levied on shops built on commercial land. The AAP government of the MCD passed a resolution in the House to de-seal the shops; however, the MCD commissioner is refusing to comply with the orders. He mentioned that the MCD had sealed the shops based on the recommendation of the Supreme Court’s monitoring committee and is now not de-sealing even on the orders of the Supreme Court’s judicial committee. The BJP-led central government is indeed supporting the MCD commissioner, and that is why he is refusing to accept the proposal in the MCD assembly. On the other hand, AAP’s senior leader and Delhi’s Cabinet Minister Atishi stated that the AAP government of the MCD stands with the traders, and they will continue to fight for the rights of businesses from the streets to the courts.
Regarding the challenges faced in de-sealing shops within Delhi over the past several years, senior AAP leaders and Delhi government Cabinet Ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj and Atishi held a joint press conference at the party headquarters on Friday.
Senior AAP Leader and Delhi’s Cabinet Minister Shri Saurabh Bharadwaj stated that in December 2017, the MCD sealed the well-operational shops and restaurants in Defence Colony which is a well-established posh market area in Delhi. Elderly people of the affected families were imploring the MCD saying that this would destroy their businesses causing miseries. This series of sealing of shops continued in Rajinder Nagar, GK, Green Park, Hauz Khas, and South Extension. Thousands of shops were sealed, rendering lakhs of people jobless. It’s been 7 years since these affected people have become jobless, and now there is a looming sword of sealing on the businesses of the remaining vendors.
“It’s said the Supreme Court had constituted a monitoring committee and that committee has recommended sealing of these shops, and the MCD said that it only abided by the order. Since 2017, the AAP has been saying that the sealing of shops is illegal, and the traders are being intimidated and their arms twisted. After that many traders knocked on the doors of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court constituted a judicial committee concerning the issues of sealing and de-sealing. The judicial committee comprised two judges _ Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice G.S. Sistani. These judges have been hearing the case from 2022 to 2023,” he added.
Shri Saurabh Bharadwaj emphasized that at the start of 2023, the AAP formed its government in the MCD, and CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal met with all the members of the Local Shopping Centres Federation and directed Mayor Shelly Oberoi to resolve the issue with the MCD commissioner. Because what had been done was completely illegal. The commissioner didn’t listen to us, and a resolution was passed in the House to de-seal these shops. The commissioner didn’t consider that resolution too and unnecessarily the matter went to the Supreme Court again.”
Shri Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “On 18th December 2023 the judicial committee clearly ordered that the sealing of these shops under Local Shopping Centres is unlawful, and the MCD can’t take conversion charges from them. These shops are already established on the commercial land. Then the BJP-led MCD government looted hundreds of crores of rupees from these shop owners even after that shops were sealed. Now, when the Supreme Court’s judicial committee issued the order, we called the House and a resolution for the de-sealing of these shops was passed on 23rd of December 2023. Even after that, the commissioner didn’t acknowledge this, and now he’s gone to the Supreme Court.”
He further said that in the Supreme Court, when the MCD commissioner’s lawyers were arguing that these shops should remain sealed, the mayor’s lawyer, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, presented stated in the court that the MCD House passed a resolution to immediately de-seal these shops. However, the commissioner is refusing to de-seal, saying, ‘I won’t de-seal.’ In 2017, when the Supreme Court’s monitoring committee said to seal them, he promptly sealed the shops. But now, the judicial committee of the Supreme Court is ordering de-sealing, and he is not complying.
Shri Saurabh Bhardwaj said, “The judicial committee of the Supreme Court is above the monitoring committee. It was the responsibility of the judicial committee to assess whether the monitoring committee did the right thing or not. However, the commissioner is not accepting the judicial committee’s decision. CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal summoned the MCD commissioner. As the Minister of Urban Development, I also called the commissioner for a meeting. The mayor issued written instructions after the meeting. The House passed a proposal and gave directions. However, the commissioner is not complying. Hence, the question arises: Whose orders is he following?”
“It is evident that the BJP-led central government has appointed the commissioner. The day the central government desires, they will remove the commissioner. The commissioner is not de-sealing the shops; nevertheless, the central government has kept him in place. If an officer here does a minor wrong, a note is sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs, and they are immediately suspended. The issue here involves hundreds of crores of rupees taken from shopkeepers, yet no action is being taken against the commissioner because the BJP-led central government supports him. Otherwise, how dare the commissioner does not abide by the resolution passed by the House,” he concluded.
AAP Senior Leader and Cabinet Minister Atishi said, “AAP has been supporting and actively participating in the struggle with the shopkeepers and traders of Delhi since the sealing of markets began in 2017. From the day when sealing started in the Defence Colony Market, the Aam Aadmi Party has consistently opposed it and raised the issue of illegal sealing.”
Aam Aadmi Party legislators and leaders stood with the shopkeepers in opposition to this sealing, but the BJP-led Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) showed no restraint in quickly implementing the sealing, causing distress to the shopkeepers.
She mentioned that when the traders, troubled by the sealing, approached the Supreme Court, the court formed a judicial committee. Despite the committee’s December 2023 order declaring the sealing as incorrect and recommending de-sealing, the action of de-sealing did not commence.
Ms Atishi stated that when the BJP was in power in the MCD, the administration was willing to comply with the orders of the court, but now, with the Aam Aadmi Party in control of the MCD, the Commissioner is unwilling to follow the orders. This is because of an amendment made to the MCD Act.
She mentioned that Since the Bharatiya Janata Party knew they were going to lose elections in the MCD and the source of their financial gains through the MCD, which had been ongoing for 15 years, was going to end, they made changes to the MCD Act. This was done to ensure that they could continue to control the MCD indirectly and maintain their financial interests through the MCD in some way.
Ms Atishi stated that today, shops are not being de-sealed only because the BJP still wants to do recovery of money from these traders. Otherwise, how is it possible that despite the de-sealing orders by the Monitoring Committee, de-sealing is not being done after the orders of the Judicial Committee?
She alleged that it is clear that de-sealing will only happen when the traders contribute money to the Bharatiya Janata Party. Until then, the BJP-led central government will not allow de-sealing by exerting pressure on officers. This is the greed of the BJP for money, and it wants to extract money from the people of Delhi through MCD, she added.
She said, “I want to tell the BJP that no matter how much they try to trouble the people of Delhi, make efforts to extract money or make changes in acts, the people of Delhi have shown their unanimous support for Arvind Kejriwal in the MCD. Despite changes in the Act, they have rejected the BJP.”
In the MCD, the AAP government will continue to fight for the rights of traders, whether we have to hit the streets or go to court. We stand with the traders, and we will continue to stand with them, Ms Atishi added.
