BJP MP Gautam Gambhir encroaching upon public land, says AAP

New Delhi, Oct 8 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Durgesh Pathak on Saturday alleged that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Gautam Gambhir has been found to be illegally encroaching upon public land, and has been "exposed" by his party's MLA Anil Bajpai only.

"BJP legislator Anil Bajpai wrote to Delhi L-G complaining about how BJP MP Gautam Gambhir has encroached upon MCD's Dhalaos for personal use. MCD lands are meant to be used only for public use, giving them to someone for personal use is a criminal act. Demand L-G Vinai Kumar Saxena to conduct a time-bound investigation and ensure strict punishment for all culprits. We had earlier exposed a similar case where a BJP councillor had allotted MCD land to her own husband," AAP MLA and MCD poll in-charge Durgesh Pathak said.

Pathak said that encroaching upon the government land and using it for illegal activities is a criminal act as per the Constitution and various other laws.

"In East Delhi, none other than BJP's MP of the constituency Gautam Gambhir has encroached upon MCD lands. This is not my claim. This has been revealed by BJP MLA of Gandhi Nagar, Anil Bajpai, who belongs to his own party. He has urged the Delhi L-G that there should be an inquiry in this matter to find out how this happened," said Pathak.

"The issue is that the MCD has a lot of land and the MCD uses it for many public works, like creating a garbage dump, collecting and then processing the garbage. The MCD also builds schools, small dispensaries, community halls and toilets. These lands are utilised for public welfare. The letter that Anil Bajpai wrote states that these spaces made to collect garbage, cannot be transferred to any individual person, nor can it be transferred for any private activity by the MCD, it is to be given for public activities or usage," he said.

"When we raised our concerns regarding the same, the BJP tried to dismiss them by saying that these people belong to AAP and they only do this. But now, the same concern has been raised by the BJP MLA Anil Bajpai himself through this letter. Anil Bajpai is a respected and senior member of the BJP and he was appointed as the observer by the party in the Presidential elections," Pathak further said.

"He has raised a complaint and given details of the manner in which Gautam Gambhir and his NGO were allowed to encroach the lands belonging to MCD. These lands belong to the people of Delhi and not to some individuals or NGO. This is a criminal act. AAP demands from LG to investigate the entire incident in a time-bound manner. Strict actions should be taken against Gautam Gambhir and the concerned individuals as per the Constitution and other laws of the country.

"Earlier, these lands used to get illegally encroached, but now they are being legally handed over to individuals, which is very dangerous. AAP vehemently opposes and condemns it. We demand time-bound investigation and strict actions against the culprits," he added.