AAP, BJP protests: Long traffic jams choke central Delhi
New Delhi (PTI): Protests by the BJP and the AAP a few hundred metres apart on the DDU Marg here left commuters stranded in long traffic jams in central Delhi as police barricaded roads and diverted vehicles.
Bumper-to-bumper traffic was also witnessed on the National Highway-24 and National Highway-9 near Akshardham.
While the AAP staged a protest over alleged cheating in the Chandigarh mayoral polls, the BJP protested against "corruption" in the Arvind Kejriwal government.
The headquarters of both the parties are on the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (DDU) Marg and the distance between them is less than 800 metres.
Traffic movement was affected on the DDU Marg and roads leading to it, with long jams witnessed at the ITO, a major intersection of the city. With barricades put up on several areas in Central Delhi, other roads too saw traffic congestion.
"Movement of traffic is restricted on DDU Marg due to demonstrations. Traffic is heavy on Vikas Marg, IP Marg, Minto Road, JLN Marg and nearby areas due to diversion of traffic. Commuters are advised to avoid these stretches," the Delhi Traffic Police posted on 'X'.
"Diversions have been made for smooth flow of traffic. We are witnessing traffic on GT Karnal road and some parts of central Delhi. Staff have been deputed to manage the traffic jams," a senior official of the Delhi Traffic Police said.
There were long jams near India Gate, Bahadurshah Zafar Marg and Minto Road near Connaught Place. Traffic was crawling on Mathura also.
The commuters also posted on X on the traffic situation.
They mentioned that the traffic was heavy at Sarai Kale Khan, on Vikas Marg near Preet Vihar and at Dayanand Vihar. The traffic was also affected near Town Hall Chadni Chowk.
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BJP slams Cong over internal quota for SCs, alleges injustice done to several communities
Bengaluru (PTI): The BJP in Karnataka on Saturday attacked the Congress government over its decision on internal reservation for Scheduled Castes, alleging injustice to several communities and questioning the intent behind the revised quota formula.
Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra and BJP MP Govind Karjol criticised the government led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, accusing it of delay, dilution of quota, and lack of commitment to social justice.
The Cabinet on Friday cleared a revised internal reservation formula for Scheduled Castes within the overall 15 per cent quota, paving the way for long-pending government recruitment.
The Cabinet approved 5.25 per cent reservation each for the "right-hand groups" and "left-hand groups", and about 4.5 per cent for other Scheduled Castes, including nomadic communities.
"The Congress government in Karnataka, led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, has committed a historic betrayal and stabbed the Scheduled Castes in the back," Vijayendra said.
In a post on 'X', the Shikaripura MLA alleged that the government had delayed the distribution of reservation among Scheduled Castes for nearly two-and-a-half years despite a Supreme Court order, before classifying them into A, B and C categories in a Cabinet decision.
He said the previous BJP government had increased reservation from 15 per cent to 17 per cent, but the present dispensation had reduced allocations.
"The quota for Category 'A' has been reduced from 6 per cent to 5.25 per cent and for Category 'B' from 5.5 per cent to 5.25 per cent, thereby causing grave injustice," he said, adding that allocations meant for several communities had been merged into Category 'C' and reduced to 4.5 per cent.
"Instead of the justifiable 5.5 per cent, the quota has been reduced to 4.5 per cent- amounting to a betrayal of these communities as well," he said.
He further claimed that despite there being no stay order, the state government had filed an affidavit agreeing to reduce reservation from 17 per cent to 15 per cent.
"As a result, the Scheduled Caste reservation has been brought down from 17 per cent to 15 per cent," he said.
Alleging inaction on employment, Vijayendra said the government had wasted two-and-a-half years of valuable time in the name of internal reservation despite lakhs of vacancies, and termed the recent recruitment assurance as misleading.
He added that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar will pay a price for the alleged injustice.
Meanwhile, addressing a press conference at the BJP state office, Karjol questioned the internal reservation mechanism adopted by the Cabinet.
The former Deputy Chief Minister said the Justice H N Nagamohan Das committee had recommended 17 per cent internal reservation and the government had reduced it to 15 per cent.
He questioned whether repeated assertions on social justice and equitable distribution were mere rhetoric, and accused the chief minister of misleading the public to retain power.
Terming the decision "arbitrary justice", Karjol said, "There were the Sadashivayya report, the Justice H N Nagamohan Das report, and even the Cabinet sub-committee report under former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. There was also a Supreme Court order. Ignoring all of these, the government has delivered arbitrary justice."
He maintained that the previous BJP government had increased reservation scientifically to 17 per cent based on a report by then Law Minister J C Madhuswamy, and alleged that, despite promises made in 2013 and after returning to power in 2023, Siddaramaiah had failed to implement internal reservation.
Accusing the chief minister of attempting to create divisions among SC sub-castes and pushing the issue into courts, Karjol urged him to stop this deception.
