New Delhi: Delhi BJP on Saturday accused the Congress government of misleading people with "lies" following announcement of extension of Lal Dora to 360 more villages and easing of restrictions on construction on farm land.
The Opposition party, which held a rally at Palam, alleged that Congress leaders including Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit were making "misleading and false promises" to the villages with an eye on assembly election later this year.
Delhi BJP President Vijay Goel alleged that city`s villages were completely neglected during last 14 years of Congress rule.
"In the name of giving relief on Lal Dora, Congress leaders have said that the application for regularisation of structures constructed in Lal Dora area would be considered after three months.
"But after three months code of conduct for Assembly polls would be in place, and then the government would give a lame excuse of not in a position to do anything. So there would not be any relief for the residents," he said.
In a move aimed at wooing the rural voters ahead of the assembly polls later this year, the Delhi Government today announced extension of Lal Dora to 360 more villages and lifting of restriction on use of farmland under the Land Reforms Act.
"What Congress leaders have announced today would hardly cover 20 to 30 per cent villages but the need of the hour is to do the long pending `chakbandi`(consolidation of land) in all villages and then extend the Lal Dora.
This is the only way to provide real relief to all the villages," Goel said, adding the government even failed to make a concrete announcement on removal of Section 81 of Delhi Land Reforms Act.
"In a typical electoral move, the Congress leadership said that officers have been asked not to serve notice under this section for sometime," he said.
There were, he said, 80,000 to 1.5 lakh pending cases against the farmers under this "draconian section".
"The only way to provide permanent relief to them and other farmers was to do away with Section 81. Congress had been promising it in its manifestos in the past but had failed to move even an inch on this," he said.
Assuring the villagers, Goel said when BJP comes to power it would abolish sections 81, 65 and 33 of Delhi Land Reforms Act and frame new regulations which were conducive for farmers of Delhi. Goel alleged that Dikshit was unaware of the problems of the villages.
"How many times did she visit villages in Delhi? When you are not even ready to spare a few minutes for visiting villages and understanding their problems, how can you think of resolving these problems. That is the reason, the Chief Minister`s speech was devoid of anything substantial for villages," he said.
"We will do in 14 months what Congress government has been promising and not delivering in last 14 years," he said.
Addressing the rally, BJP national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said, "On the development issue, Congress stands exposed as soon as it comes out of Lutyens` zone.
"The villages in Delhi today resemble underdeveloped villages of extremely backward states. All this has been the result of perpetual neglect of these villages."
Delhi BJP would be organising a convention of Muslims on 23 June at Talkotara Stadium to discuss the issues concerning the minority community in the city.
PTI
