File Photo: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi (Press Trust of India)
Latching on to the salary issue of sanitation workers, Rahul Gandhi on Saturday made a strong pro-poor pitch assuring them that he will give his "whole life to fight" for the rights of the under-privileged wherever they are being suppressed.
"I am not talking about sanitation staff alone but wherever the poor people are being suppressed. Wherever people in suit-boot or whether they are from Aam Aadmi (Party) are not doing their work, I will stand by them," Mr Gandhi said after meeting the sanitation workers of East Delhi MCD office.
The workers met Mr Gandhi at his residence to thank him a day after he took on the Centre and Delhi government over their strike.
The Congress Vice President, who had joined the MCD workers on strike yesterday at East Delhi MCD office and expressed solidarity with them, said that while he spent only 15 minutes with them then, he is ready to dedicate his whole life to fight for their cause.
"I stood with them and will stand with them in future also. I am ready to stand with them everywhere. I had told them that I will join them whenever they need me.
"Yesterday, I was with them for 15 minutes but I am willing to give hours, days, months, years and my whole life for them," Mr Gandhi said as the sanitation workers cheered him.
Mr Gandhi, who has often made a pronounced pitch for Left-of- the-Centre politics, said that he believes that the city should progress by taking everybody along, be it poor or rich.
"They should all move together. This is my thinking and I will take it forward," he said.
Asked if he believed that AAP-run Delhi government and BJP-run MCD were forced to pay sanitation staff their dues due to his intervention, Mr Gandhi evaded a direct reply saying he does not know whether it happened due to him or somebody else.
Amid mounting public anger over heaps of garbage in the city not being cleared, Mr Gandhi had yesterday launched a scathing attack on the Centre and Delhi government for "failing to deliver" on their "tall promises" and accused them of passing the buck on each other.
Sitting on the ground surrounded by protesting sanitation workers in east Delhi, Rahul had invoked their strength as "shakti" saying that is the only way to solve their problems as merely making demands will not get them their dues.
Attacking both BJP and AAP over the issue, Mr Gandhi had yesterday sought to project Congress as the alternative that will fight for the cause of sanitation workers.
After the strike was called off, Congress had claimed that it was on account of Rahul's intervention that the Delhi LG finally released money for the salaries of sanitation workes.
The party also took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Swachchata Abhiyan saying why it is not visible in Delhi now.
"Rahulji had yesterday met the agitating safai karmacharis after which Delhi government released some funds to pay their salaries leading to the end of their strike. When they were on strike, nobody from AAP and BJP went to meet them.
"Now when the strike has ended, those belonging to the party of Prime Minister Narenda Modi and AAP have come out on the streets for a photo op in the name of clearing garbage.
Neither AAP nor those belonging Modiji's party spares any opportunity of photo-up," party spokesperson and AICC general secretary Shakeel Ahmed said.
The party also said that when Congress was in power in Delhi, the state government headed by Sheila Dikshit had released Rs 325 crore for salary of MCD workers.
Both North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) and East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) are cash-strapped, unable to pay salaries of many employees.
Garbage has been rotting on roads and bylanes, raising stink and health concerns as frustrated citizens voiced their anger against the authorities.
Over 15,000 safai karamcharis were on strike for the last 10 days protesting non-payment of their salaries for over two months.
They called off their 12-day strike yesterday hours after Lt Governor Najeeb Jung announced that he would release Rs 493 crore for their salaries.
Attacking BJP and AAP over the issue, party general secretary Digvijay Singh tweeted "AAP starts cleanliness drive after sanitation workers strike has been called off. Photo ops for AAP. BJP and AAP are masters of Nautanki."
In another tweet, he said "PM Modi and Mr Kejriwal are engaging in a friendly fight to hide their failures."
Scores of sanitation workers and leaders of differnt workers unions, accompanied by Congress leaders Ajay Maken and Randip Singh Surjewala, gathered Rahul's residence at Tughlaq Road to extend their thanks for his support and participation in their sit-in at East MCD head office.
The Safai Mazdoor Congress general secretary Vir Singh Dhingan said that "the wages of sanitation workers were never stopped during Shiela Dixit government rule in Delhi. This time also Rahul Gandhi came forward in their support and he assured that he will extend all his help to sanitation workers.
Dhingan said that the joint fronts of MCD unions will hold a massive demonstration at Jantar Mantar to press for fulfilment of their remaining demands, including regularisation of sanitation workers, on June 17.
When contacted, Surjewala, who is the Chairman of AICC Communication Department, said that DPCC chief Ajay Maken and other Congress leaders will join and support the June 17 stir of MCD workers.
However, he could not confirm whether Rahul will also attend the event.
The attention that the party gave to this event was evident as the official twitter handle of Congress @INCIndia gave a blow-b- blow acccount of the meeting of the sanitation workers with Rahul.
Some of the MCD workers, who had come to meet Mr Gandhi, took their sefies with him while the others knotted a turban on him.
"No leader helped us when we were holding our strike but Rahul came to us and listened our problems. Let's see what he does for our other demands", said a sanitation worker Nirmla.
"We expressed our gratitude to Rahul for his concern and we have hopes that with his help our other demands including regularisation of temporary workers will also be filled", said another sanitation worker.