The Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday accused the BJP of forcing Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) employees to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in the city.
The party alleged that the sanitation workers and other staff’s Sunday-off was cancelled and were threatened with suspension or dismissal if they refused to come.
,inaugurated the Dwarka Expressway and the Urban Extension Road-II (UER-II), projects worth nearly Rs 11,000 crore. PM Modi also addressed a rally after the inauguration.
AAP also shared videos on social media to support its claims. In one clip, a speaker alleged, “By issuing a Tughlaqi order, they were told that whoever does not come today will be terminated by the DC, or they will be suspended. This is the kind of open threats and hooliganism that the BJP government in Delhi is doing with our MCD sanitation worker brothers today.”
Another video showed a sanitation worker describing how he was forced to attend despite personal family commitments. He claimed that workers were “kept sitting under pressure” and warned against disobeying orders.
Former Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia called the move an insult to teachers. “Sending teachers in Delhi to clap at Modi ji’s rally under government orders is a gross insult to teachers by the BJP. Teachers are nation-builders, not a crowd for some rally,” he said. He contrasted the BJP’s approach with the AAP government’s record of sending teachers to Finland and Cambridge for training, alleging that the ruling party “has reduced them to merely clapping.”
AAP state president Saurabh Bhardwaj, addressing a press conference, claimed that employees were pressured into attending. “To fill the shortage of BJP workers, employees of MCD and other departments have been pressurised and sent to the rally venue,” he said.He further alleged that sanitation workers, malaria department staff, licenced branch employees, and MCD school teachers were transported to the venue in buses.
Atishi, Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, also accused the BJP of misusing MCD staff. “BJP has made Safai Karamcharis (sanitation workers) their political workers. The BJP should answer. On what basis were the Safai Karamcharis called in the name of duty on Sunday and sent to the rally? Is it the job of MCD to increase the crowd in Modi ji’s rally?” she asked on X.