LG, BJP To Blame For Delhi Coaching Centre Basement Library Deaths: AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak To News18

Amid the uproar over three drownings, Rajinder Nagar MLA from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Durgesh Pathak blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for “not doing anything during its 15-year rule at the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD)” and said the drainage system in the national capital will have to be rebuilt.

On Saturday, three young IAS aspirants were killed in the basement of Rau’s IAS Study Circle in Old Rajinder Nagar. The rainwater got collected on the road that eventually filled the basement with drain water. The students were preparing for the UPSC exams in the library, situated in the basement in the Rajinder Nagar area. Shreya Yadav of Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni from Telangana and Nevin Dalwin from Ernakulam in Kerala died in the flooding due to heavy rain.

Pathak, while speaking to News18, said in Hindi, “If anyone is responsible for these deaths, then it is the Lieutenant Governor (LG) and the BJP. How can they ask questions to us? The BJP has its parliamentarian there for the past 10 years. They could have built the drainage system. Why have they not taken any steps?”

The AAP MLA, who took charge after winning the June 2022 assembly bypolls, said that they cannot change the complete picture in just one-and-a-half years. “I took charge just 1.5 years ago…. There are 2,000 lanes. I cannot put drainage across all these lanes in just 1.5 years…. If you want to make an argument and use false statements, then there is no end to it. But if you want to take responsibility and take action, then you must,” he said, adding that since the city government doesn’t have power to transfer and post, and officials don’t listen to the elected representatives.

Pathak said the flooding and lack of drainage system in the area are not new issues. “The main thing is that it was not a low-lying area and this is not a new problem. It was a drain under the MCD. We have been in power at the MCD from the last one year only. But this problem is very old, for the past 20-25 years… Before us, the BJP ruled the MCD for 15 years. The LG, too, had said that no work has been done on these drains for the last one decade,” he said.

Pathak went on to say that his party was carrying the “sins of the BJP”. “This was their responsibility,” he added.

After the incident, BJP Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla had said on X, “This is not an accident, but a murder committed by the Aam Aadmi Party; it is criminal negligence due to which at least two girls have lost their lives…”

‘DELHI’s DRAINAGE SYSTEM HAS COLLAPSED’

The MLA said that all illegal institutions will be banned on priority. “This is not a problem just in Rajinder Nagar, but the entire city … Drainage system, even when built, has been illegally captured by the locals. We need strong action across the areas. The entire drainage system needs to be corrected. Otherwise where will the water go?”

He also said that simply building sewer lines will not solve the issue. Sewer lines cannot take this much water. “This is not something that has happened overnight. It happened over the last 20-25 years. Even in the posh colonies, people have captured the drain. They build ramps on it. Actions need to be taken against such practices…The entire drainage system in Delhi is finished. It has to be rebuilt completely,” he added.

Not just Delhi, the MLA added, but the entire country is facing similar issues. He said no work has been done on construction by-laws. “In our country, it is very easy to offer money and build the house the way one wants… Before aiming to be a developed nation, we need to correct the drainage system. Otherwise, there is no point for anything. Now, if it rains again, a similar incident could take place anywhere. And it is not only about my constituency but any part of Delhi and even Ghaziabad, Gurugram or Noida,” he said, adding that dirty politics is not ending in this country.

‘DELHI SERVICES BILL BIGGEST HURDLE’

The 35-year-old MLA also said that those who are blaming the AAP leaders and the government should read the Delhi Service Bill. “Those who are questioning us should read the services bill first. There is a video online where (Cabinet Minister) Saurabh (Bharadwaj) is clearly saying that the agencies are giving reports to the government that they have done 90% desilting. Now, the MLA can’t go and check every drain personally. The only way to check the reality of these reports is to have a third-party audit. And if the CS (chief secretary) refuses to have a third-party audit, then there is nothing in our hand. There is no shortage in our efforts,” he said.

The MLA also recalled that on May 11, 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that the Delhi government has legislative and executive powers over administrative services in the national capital, bringing to an end the eight-year-long legal battle between the AAP-led Delhi government and the Centre appointed LG. However, the Union government, controlled by the BJP, on May 19, 2023 promulgated the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023 to create an authority for transfer and posting of Group A officers in the city.

“If we had the power to suspend those officials, they would have listened to us. This is what they (the BJP) planned. The SC gave us the power and soon the Centre implemented the Delhi Service Ordinance bill. This is their (BJP’s) plan that they should finish Delhi somehow. We get the blame that there is a fight between LG and the government. But those blaming us should also read the service bill. What do we have in our hands?”

Pathak said that the LG keeps adding hurdles in all schemes of the Delhi government, saying “you (LG) keep killing schemes after schemes because you hate (Chief Minister Arvind) Kejriwal and want to kill him”.

On being asked about his efforts in the area, he said his entire social media feed is full of what he does. “I work on roads and drainage continuously.”

The MLA was elected to the assembly as replacement for Raghav Chadha, who moved to the Rajya Sabha. The term of the Delhi Assembly ends in February 2025.

AAP PROTESTS IN PARLIAMENT

On Tuesday, AAP leaders protested in parliament against the BJP over the Old Rajinder Nagar incident. Speaking to News18, party’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said that the LG, along with the BJP, is conspiring against the people of the national capital. “If the officials are not following the orders given by the Minister, then who should have the power to transfer that official? Who should have the power to punish that official? I am not even questioning what the BJP MPs are doing (in Delhi). This power is with the LG, who is conspiring along with the BJP to make Delhi hell. The Supreme Court’s order should be implemented and the power of transfer and posting (of the officials) should be given to the city’s elected government,” Singh said in Hindi.

Sandeep Pathak, Singh’s colleague in the Rajya Sabha, also spoke to News18 and called the incident “unfortunate”, putting the blame on the BJP. It was being said that the MLA was ours, the councilor was ours but the Prime Minister is yours. Everyone knows how the Prime Minister has put Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in jail illegally. Even the city’s (then) deputy CM (Manish Sisodia) was put in jail. The elected government of Delhi is in jail. Officers are being directed to not listen to the elected leaders. They purposely stop the desilting process. This is a criminal negligence of the LG, the Home Minister and the Prime Minister because all the services are under them,” he said.

Sandeep Pathak, who is also AAP’s National General Secretary, added that the apex court has said that the elected government should have the power of services. “On the one hand, they took away our power and on the other, the officials are encouraged to not listen to us… I believe that the entire governance process needs to be improved slowly. The BJP was in power at the MCD for more than 10 years and it became the most defunct governing organisation in the country. The reform works have already started here,” he added.

The party leader also said that the BJP disrupted the working of Delhi government as well as the standing committees. “You have to understand one thing, all the files have to go through the LG. He can stop whatever file he wants. Be it about the officials or even the recruitment of the cleaning staff or the appointment of the mayor or even funds for any scheme,” the Rajya Sabha MP added.

He accused the LG of looking for steps that can give him political benefit against the AAP. “Don’t clean the drains and they will get political benefit. This entire politics is dirty. I request them not to play with lives,” he said.