Mafia politics

by Manish Anand

Delhi has always been builders' City. It remains so even today. The government, the civic agencies and others have all been subservient to the interests of builders over the years. At the end of the day, the Delhi politics remains hostage to the builder Mafia, which has no respect for any sort of law or interest of the common people or tax payers' money.

Among the journalists, it has been an open fact that the strident opposition to the municipal Corporation's ongoing demolition drive at the prodding of the Delhi High Court is much to do with their own violation of building norms and themselves being due for the rough treatment by the MCD if it had its way.

The Delhi edition of The Statesman and The Indian Express through their series of reports laid bare how the Delhi politicians made the City a concrete madness. The city now waits for a disaster to learn to respect building sanity.

Voluble Ram Babu Sharma who has been more of an albatross cross on the neck of the Delhi chief minister Sheila was exposed for why he opposed the demolition drive. He had his own multi-storeyed sweet shops violating all the laws whereas Mukesh Sharma, prominent leader of Congress in the Delhi Assembly, has a chain of schools in Vikaspuri, Janakpuri violating not only building norms, but also encroaching into public lands. Another loud voice against the demolition drive and leader of the Opposition in the Delhi assembly, Jagdish Mukhi, too found himself among the building mafia. But worst of all Mukhi went wild enough to assault Express team only to be knocked by the paper where it hurts more. The list is too long, and if all are exposed very few among the Delhi politician will have clean image.

The Delhi politics is equally cursed with the worst breed of politicians. The industry minister Mangat Lal Sharma is the most absurd of them. In one function where he was to pin up medals on some awardees, he took more than three minutes to pin up a medal on the blouse of a lady scout with embarassment spreading far and wide, inviting scorns of everyone in the audience. He has a mill which also flaunts all laws and when a fire broke out in an industry, Mrs Dikshit had to ask him to shift his mill. Embarassment that Mrs Dikshit has to bear !

In the last few years Delhi saw a mushrooming of liquor bars, wine and beer shops not only in posh areas but also in Delhi's rural areas. Some of them found space in residential areas also. The Delhi BJP chief Dr Harsh vardhan speaking to the author had accused the Delhi governmnet to be under the influence of liquor mafia, which has all the evidence to be true. Recently, the Delhi cabinet was all set to lower the legal age to consume liquor from 21 to 18, ostensibly to raise the revenue as well as to fill up the coffer of liquor mafia. But it was the media which broke the news and explained behind the scene stuff that ultimately led to the postponement of decision.

The High Court has more than sufficeint reason to keep a tab on the doings of the Delhi governmnet.