Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Delhi Assembly, Vijender Gupta, along with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators, on Saturday met Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and submitted a memorandum demanding the reinstatement and regularization of 10,000 bus marshals who were dismissed from their jobs last year.
Gupta urged the city government to prepare a Cabinet note based on the proposal he presented in the Assembly and to forward it for final approval by the Lieutenant Governor after obtaining Cabinet approval.
The BJP leader claimed that 10,000 DTC bus marshals were dismissed from their jobs on October 11, 2023, without any reason, on the instructions of then-Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
“The most concerning aspect is that these marshals were not paid salaries for 5-6 months before their dismissal, and even after one year, their salaries remain pending, leading to severe financial difficulties for their families,” he said.
In the memorandum, the highlighted issues included the reappointment of the bus marshals from the date of their initial appointment, annual salary increments, redesignating them as guards or marshals instead of volunteers, and reservations for SC, ST, OBC, and EWS categories as per rules.
Speaking about the BJP’s stand on the issue, Gupta said that the BJP stands with these marshals and it was the BJP legislators who introduced and passed a proposal in the Assembly to reinstate and regularize them.
However, the subsequent steps were the responsibility of the Delhi government, which was supposed to prepare a Cabinet note and get it approved by the Cabinet, but the government has taken no action on this matter, he added.
Commenting on the Cabinet note, Gupta claimed that a Cabinet note was hastily prepared by the Chief Minister’s office to fulfill formalities on Saturday, but it lacked sufficient ministerial signatures and did not include any of the demands presented in the BJP’s memorandum.
The BJP legislators clearly expressed their dissatisfaction with this, he said.