'Thekedari' System Inhuman and Must End, Says Arvind Kejriwal in May Day Address

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Kejriwal argued that the hiring of workers on a contractual basis leads to their exploitation at the hands of contractors. He said, "the High Court is yet to decide whether Delhi government has the power to take action against those contractors who do not pay workers enough. I am certain the court will rule in favour of the workers and when it does, I will be on the street myself to catch any offenders."

New Delhi: The 'Thekedari' (contractor) system is inhuman and must end, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said in his address to labour organizations at New Delhi’s Constitution Club on Labour Day. In a message to his electoral base, Kejriwal said, it was the rich, not the poor, who voted him into office and spoke about the tussle with the Lieutenant Governor’s office while his government was trying to raise the minimum wage in Delhi.

“The Thekedari system must end. It is inhuman, against the law and against the spirit of the constitution and yet, it continues. If Delhi was a full state, we would have ended this in ten days and regularised all contractual labourers. Unfortunately, my hands have been tied,” Kejriwal said.

Kejriwal argued that the hiring of workers on a contractual basis leads to their exploitation at the hands of contractors. He said, "We (Delhi government) raised the minimum wage to Rs. 13,500. Many workers have started getting their wages but I see that still there are many contractors who don’t pay their workers the correct amount. The High Court is yet to decide whether Delhi government has the power to take action against those contractors who do not pay workers enough. I am certain the court will rule in favour of the workers and when it does, I will be on the street myself to catch any offenders."

The CM claimed that the government lost six months in trying to get their proposal for raising the minimum wage cleared by the Lieutenant Governor, but added that he was willing to fight because "the rich did not vote for me, the poor did." In an appeal to labourers, Kejriwal said he wanted to give their children a better life than they had.

"I don’t want your children to have more choices. They don’t have to become labourers. That is why we are working tirelessly to improve the condition of government schools in Delhi. Sometimes, people don’t send their children to school citing poverty as a reason. But you don’t have to worry as Delhi Government will give your children a good education for free." the Delhi CM, Arvind Kejriwal added.