New Delhi: Opposing the proposed MCD split,
Delhi Mayor Rajni Abbi on Tuesday shot off a letter to Congress
chief Sonia Gandhi appealing to her to rise above party
politics and "help realise the dreams of Rajiv Gandhi" by not
supporting the demand of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.
In her letter to Gandhi, the BJP leader said the demand
for trifurcation will not only weaken the local self
government but will also be harmful in the long run for
Delhiites.
"I feel that the dreams which your husband late Rajiv
Gandhi saw and wished for the country are being put on the
back burner by the Chief Minister of Delhi (Sheila Dikshit),"
she said.
Abbi said Rajiv Gandhi sincerely believed that the till
the time gram panchayats and local self governments are
strengthened, the polity of this country cannot improve.
"The 1.67 crore people of Delhi are directly served by
the MCD. There are around 1.5 lakh employees whose services
will also be jeopardised. Nowhere in India, there are more
than one Corporations in a city. In fact, other cities are
strengthening and fortifying their corporations. Delhi being
the capital of India should lead in consolidation rather than
divisions," she said.
"...I hope you will rise above party politics and help in
realising the dreams of Rajiv Gandhi," she said.
In a separate letter to Law Minister Salman Khurshid,
Abbi alleged the proposal was "political motivated" and will
harm the interests of Delhiites.
She pointed out that the Section 484A in the proposal
sent to Law Ministry for clearance seeks for creation of a
post of Director which will be filled by a bureaucrat in all
three corporations was "unconstitutional".
"In a democracy, it is unheard that a bureaucrat sits on
the head of an elected local self government and also gets
the power to issue directions of any kind. One of the major
sources of revenue, toll tax, has been given to the so-called
Director. This takes away the fundamental power of the
Corporation to increase or do away with toll tax," Abbi said.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, November 22, 2011, 23:02