New Delhi: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi today met street vendors in the Raghubir Nagar area of Delhi.
"The vendors called me saying that they don't have enough facilities,” Rahul said, adding that ‘the poor workers here have not been given any space in the city. So, I am here'.
The vendors have been complaining about lack of basic facilities in their area.
“These people are oppressed. They are not given their proper space and so I have come to listen to them. There used to be sheds here which have been taken away from these people, so they called me to look into it. The poor people here are being sidelined from the city and I will find a solution for these people,” Rahul said.
The Congress vice-president promised them better facilities and that Congress would take up their cause during the Monsoon session of Parliament, slated to commence from July 21.
“I will find a solution for these people,” he said.
“Many of the vendors hailed from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state Gujarat. These people belong to the nation, not just Gujarat or any specific state,” Rahul added.
Before meeting the street vendors, Rahul also visited a local temple, where he paid obeisance to the deity.
Congress leaders Ajay Maken and PC Chacko were also present at the venue.
Rahul further said that the ‘poor people here are being sidelined from the city'.
On February 19, 2014, Rajya Sabha had passed the bill which aims to regulate street vending and protect the rights of urban street vendors, besides ensuring steps against their harassment by police and civic authorities.
The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill, 2014 — which Lok Sabha had cleared on September 6 of last year — also provides for protection of livelihood rights and social security of street vendors.
Rahul and his party have been targeting Narendra Modi-led NDA government over not fulfilling its promises and doing ‘nothing to fight corruption'.
The Central government is already under fire from opposition parties over Lalit Modi row and the controversial Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh.
Congress has demanded External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje for helping former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, who is under investigation for alleged irregularities and FOREX violation.
Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan is also under Congree' gun over job scam under Vyapam and numerous deaths of people associated to it.
