City BJP ditches NDMC protest, saves party from embarrassment
Party staged protests at discom offices across Delhi
To avoid major embarrassment, Delhi BJP on Friday cancelled a protest against the inflation power bill planned in New Delhi Assembly constituency in the eleventh hour. The area comes under New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). Delhi BJP leaders including party MPs, staged protests at discom offices across the city, demanding relief from “huge” power bills being sent to consumers during the corona pandemic. Former Union minister and former Delhi BJP president Vijay Goel was to lead the protest at Gole Market in the New Delhi Assembly, from where chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is elected.
Sources in the party told this newspaper that protests at Gole Market was cancelled as it will turn into a political storm as the area comes under the NDMC, which functions under the Union home ministry, and any protest will be seen as a protest against the Narendra Modi government or against home minister Amit Shah.
“Protest was cancelled at 12 noon just as it was about to start,” said a party leader adding that state general secretary Kuljeet Chahal and media department head Ashok Goel were responsible for the goof ups.
Sources said former Union minister Mr Goel was asked to lead the protest at Gole Market by Mr Ashok Goel and communication to media was sent twice by the media department. No information of cancellation communicated to the media and party workers.
Explaining the reasons for the cancellation of protest at Gol Market, Ashok Goel said that the party realised that the area falls under the jurisdiction of the Union government. Attempts to get Mr Goel’s reaction turned futile.
It is also learnt that former state unit president Satish Upadhyay and Vijender Gupta was not informed. But later realizing the mistake Mr Vijender Gupta was asked to join state president Adesh Gupta at Malviya Nagar protest site minutes before it started.
Addressing a protest outside Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) office in Malviya Nagar, Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta demanded the Kejriwal government to waive off fixed charges. “The shops and offices were closed and all business activities were shut during the lockdown, still people are being sent huge electricity bills including fixed charges by the Kejriwal government. BJP opposes it and demands its waiver” he said.
Lok Sabha Manoj Tiwari, Parvesh Verma, Ramesh Bidhuri, Gautam Gambhir and Meenakshi Lekhi joined the protest at their respective constituencies. North West Delhi MP Hansraj Hans did not join the protest.
The Delhi BJP staged protests at discom offices across the city, demanding relief for consumers from “huge” power bills being sent to them for the coronavirus lockdown period.
Party leaders and its MPs from Delhi participated in the protests and demanded consumers be provided waiver on the fixed charges.