THE CPI(M) Delhi state committee had organised two dharnas on February 5, in support of the ongoing strike of MCD employees. Hundreds of activists participated in these dharnas that were held at Civic Centre (headquarters of North & South MCD) and headquarters of the East MCD at Patpargunj. The dharnas were addressed by CPI(M) Delhi state secretary KM Tiwari, Central Committee member PMS Grewal, state secretariat members - Nathu Prasad, Anurag Saxena, Asha Sharma and PI Raveendranathan and state committee members Sidheshwar Shukla, Jagdish Chand Sharma, Subir Banerjee, Rampal and Sonia Verma. JMS leader, Kavita Sharma also addressed the dharna. Speakers condemned the municipal corporations and the state government for imposing starvation and hardships on over one lakh employees who have not been paid salaries for three months. Instead of addressing this issue with the seriousness it deserves, both the MCDs and the Kejriwal government are using the people of Delhi as a political football in a cynical game of ‘match fixing’. The MCD employees have resorted to strike as a last resort. The responsibility for the collapse of sanitation, public health and closure of municipal schools therefore lies entirely with the MCDs and the state government. The central government has been a mute spectator in this entire process. In some measure it too is responsible for the above situation. The non-payment of pensions to the old, disabled and widows is a matter of grave concern as well. In the light of the above, the CPI(M) has demanded the following in memoranda addressed to mayors and commissioners of all the three MCDs: 1. Immediate release of the salary of workers, school teachers and health servants. 2. Release of arrears of MCD workers. 3. Payment of old age, widow and handicap pension. 4. Clearance of dues of retired and dead servicemen. 5. AAP government must take necessary steps to solve the crisis in the city. CPI (M) Delhi state committee calls upon its members and sympathisers to actively stand in solidarity with the ongoing struggle of the MCD workers.