The Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Leader of Opposition (LoP) in MCD House, Ankush Narang, slammed BJP for slashing the MCD SC Committee from 35 to 21 members, calling it a deliberate move to hijack the Chairperson’s post and suppress Dalit voices. With only 9 Dalit councillors in BJP and 31 in AAP, the reduction stripped 14 elected Dalit representatives of their rightful place in the committee.
Addressing a press conference, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in MCD House, Ankush Narang, stated, “A few days ago, elections to various MCD committees were due, but Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh abruptly issued a notice suspending the process. He did this to bring a proposal in the House scheduled for July 10—without informing anyone about the changes he intended. Now, the proposed changes are out in the open, and they are blatantly anti-Dalit.”
Exposing the BJP’s amendment, Ankush Narang stated, “Until now, the Scheduled Caste (SC) Committee in MCD used to have 35 members. But the BJP has reduced it to 21 members through this amendment. Fourteen members have been axed from SC Committee. This from a party that talks endlessly about principles and ideals. During the MCD elections, 42 seats were reserved for SC candidates, out of which Aam Aadmi Party won 36. The Dalit community clearly rejected BJP—who could win only 6. After this humiliating defeat, BJP used ED and CBI pressure tactics to break away a few of our councillors.”
Calling out the BJP for reducing representation to suit its convenience, he added, “BJP doesn’t even have enough SC councillors. That’s why they’ve slashed the committee from 35 to 21 members. They currently have only 9 Dalit councillors—and conveniently placed all 9 in the committee. The remaining include 7 from AAP and 2 from Indraprastha Vikas Party (IVP), though the official allocation had just one IVP councillor. One Congress councillor was also listed, but Congress had no Dalit councillor. So BJP shifted that slot to IVP. It’s now clear that BJP, Congress, and IVP are working hand-in-hand in this committee election. Since BJP only had 9 SC councillors, they rewrote the entire committee composition around that.”
Questioning BJP’s motive behind removing elected Dalit representatives, the MCD LoP further added, “Earlier, the 35-member SC committee had 32 elected councillors and 3 nominated members. Now, BJP has nominated 18 out of 21 members—essentially snatching away the rights of 14 elected Dalit councillors. The new structure has been deliberately designed to ensure that only a BJP councillor can become Chairperson. What harm would’ve come if the committee remained 35-member strong? If it had, AAP’s Dalit councillor would’ve become Chairperson, and real issues of Dalit rights would’ve been raised. By excluding 14 elected Dalit councillors, what right does BJP have to rob them of their voice? Is BJP in power merely to force their own people into top posts?”
“From denying permanent jobs to workers, to blocking teacher promotions, and now weakening the SC committee, BJP continues its anti-Dalit actions. Why has BJP stolen the rights of 14 Dalit councillors? For what greed was this amendment introduced—when for years, the committee has always had 35 members? Was the size cut just to ensure BJP could control the Chairperson’s post,” he asked.
Meanwhile, City SP Zone Chairman Vikas Tang said, “I’ve been a councillor since 2007. Even then, the SC Committee had 35 members. BJP has misused power to reduce it to 21—only to install their own Chairperson. Fourteen voices, who could have represented the Dalit community, have been silenced. These councillors would’ve raised the real issues from their areas—but BJP snatched away their rights. AAP, meanwhile, passed a resolution in the House to regularize 12,000 sanitation workers—many of whom have waited over 20 years. BJP is abusing its power and snatching away Dalit rights. AAP stands firmly for giving Dalits what is rightfully theirs. Once again, BJP’s anti-Dalit face stands fully exposed.”
