'Crime against women not under control in Narela'

Bharatiya Janata Party’s Neeldaman Khatri had become the MLA of outer Delhi’s Narela in December 2013 by breaking a 16-year-old rule of Congress in the constituency.

In an interview with Vishnu Sukumaran, Khatri talks about his agenda, opponents and issues in the area. Excerpts:

Narela is seen as one of the areas not considered safe for women. How do you plan to change it?

I believe in the uplift of women and mythology says yatra naryastu pujyante ramante tatra devata, which means god lives wherever women are worshipped. Crime against women is not under control in Narela, but I will try to achieve the goal of maintaining women’s dignity.

I will make sure that area level coordination will be maintained with Delhi Police for a better law and order situation.

I also plan to work on opening a college for girls in the constituency.

I will also push for an university in outer Delhi, which will not only provide education to girls, but will also provide government jobs to women.         

Don’t you think quality of primary education in Narela lags behind other parts of the capital?
I would say that no government schools were opened in Narela during the 16-year-old rule of Congress.

I strongly feel that education is the most important base required for a strong nation and opening new government schools will be one of my priorities.

I also plan to work at grassroot level to provide better education in the existing government schools and make them equivalent to public schools of Delhi.
The current scenario of the constituency reflects that it was completely ignored in the last two decades.

Which other sectors do you think were ignored by past governments?

I feel health sector and sewage system have been ignored in Narela.
There is no government hospital in the constituency, so I plan to work with Harsh Vardhan to provide an advanced hospital equivalent to AIIMS for the people of Narela.
Data also reveals that 45 per cent of Delhi does not have sewer lines and waste water flows into the river directly through storm water drains.

People of Narela are also victims of bad sewage planning. The Congress government of Sheila Dikshit had promised interceptor sewers, but nothing has been done so far.
I will ensure that these issues are brought to the notice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Whom do you consider as the biggest political rival?

I defeated former MLA Jaswant Singh of Congress by a margin of over 28,000 votes in the elections of December 2013.

Jaswant has been replaced for the upcoming elections and my nearest rival last time, Virender of Bahujan Samaj Party, has also been replaced. The constituency has a new contestant from Aam Aadmi Party.

So I’m the only repeat contestant in the constituency and I don’t feel threatened by any of the political parties or independent candidates.

I have full confidence that Modi’s rally in Rohini on February 3 will boost my candidature for return as the MLA of Narela.