In a chilling display of authoritarianism, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Delhi detained senior AAP leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Delhi Assembly, Atishi, for standing with jhuggi residents resisting a bulldozer drive in the Bhoomiheen Camp of Kalkaji. The police, already deployed in large numbers to suppress the protest, man-handled the former Delhi Chief Minister, and then forcibly removed her from the site and took her to Baba Haridas Nagar police station—an astonishing 43 kilometres away—raising serious concerns over the government’s crackdown on voices of the poor.
The incident has sparked outrage among senior AAP leaders, with National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal calling it an act of dictatorship. Reacting to the events, Arvind Kejriwal posted on X: “In just three months, the BJP has destroyed Delhi.”
In another post, the AAP Chief wrote: “The BJP government is destroying the homes of the poor all over Delhi, making people homeless. When the Aam Aadmi Party stands with the poor and raises their voice, our leaders are arrested. Today the Leader of Opposition Atishi was taken into custody—this is dictatorship. BJP may arrest all of us, but we will continue to raise our voice for the rights of the common people of Delhi.”
At Bhoomiheen Camp, Atishi addressed the media and residents, saying: “BJP wants to demolish all jhuggis in Delhi. Today they are taking me to jail because I raised my voice for jhuggi dwellers. CM Rekha Gupta will face the curse of the poor. BJP will never return to power in Delhi. Just two days ago, CM Rekha Gupta claimed that not a single jhuggi would be touched. Yet today, there is massive deployment of police force at Bhoomiheen Camp.”
She revealed that the BJP government plans to send bulldozers into Bhoomiheen Camp on Wednesday. “The residents whose homes are slated for demolition were protesting peacefully. They were standing with their documents, pleading not to be evicted. The police responded by brutally beating them with lathis and detaining them.”
She further added, “On one hand, BJP is demolishing the homes of the poor and throwing them onto the streets. On the other hand, they are snatching away their right to protest. BJP only makes false promises to jhuggi dwellers. Before elections, they say ‘where there is a jhuggi, there will be a home’. As soon as the elections are over, they start demolishing jhuggis. A few days ago, several jhuggis in Bhoomiheen Camp were demolished, and now BJP is planning to bring bulldozers again.”
Raising legal and moral questions, Atishi asked, “If the High Court has ordered demolition, why hasn’t the BJP government challenged it in the Supreme Court? The High Court may say that jhuggis shouldn’t exist here, but it has not stopped the government from rehabilitating residents. Today, people whose homes are being demolished are on the streets, with no alternative housing provided. BJP is evicting the poor without offering homes, betraying the very promises they made.”
She also revealed, “Nearly 60% of Bhoomiheen Camp residents have been allotted flats. But the remaining 40% are repeatedly declared ineligible for fraudulent reasons. People who have lived here for 30–40 years are being left homeless. Why is BJP demolishing homes without providing housing when they promised ‘jhuggi ke sthal par hi makan’?”
Questioning the basis for eviction, Atishi said, “Residents here have long-standing ration cards, voter IDs, and Aadhaar cards. How can they be labelled encroachers? Women were beaten when they demanded their rights. Their family members were taken away by police. Is this BJP’s idea of justice? It was BJP’s Delhi government and DDA that approached the court—not the court acting on its own. Today, Bhoomiheen Camp has exposed BJP’s lies. It was the BJP-led DDA that filed the case against these poor people. CM Rekha Gupta can stop this demolition today. She can first provide homes—once allotted, these people will vacate voluntarily.”
Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj also slammed the BJP on X: “BJP stands completely exposed. It is an anti-poor party with no empathy for jhuggi dwellers. Detaining LoP Atishi is proof of BJP’s authoritarian mindset. BJP is a shame. Its four-engine government in Delhi is a shame.”
Senior AAP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia wrote: “In Bhoomiheen Camp live people whose tiny homes are their entire world. BJP’s ‘jhuggi ke sthal par hi makan’ promise is now an exposed lie. When bulldozers came for their homes, Atishi reached there not just as a leader, but as a daughter and sister, raising the voice of the people standing under broken roofs. And for this, Delhi Police detained her. The same police that stays silent on brutality against young girls and shuts its eyes to women’s safety, but quickly picks up the lathi when someone raises their voice.”
AAP MP Sanjay Singh added on X: “Our fight for the rights of jhuggi dwellers will continue. Let them beat us or send us to jail.”
AAP’s National Media In-charge Anurag Dhanda also condemned the incident, writing: “Former CM of Delhi, Atishi, has been detained by Delhi Police and taken to an undisclosed location. Is opposing BJP’s bulldozers on the homes of the poor now a crime? Aam Aadmi Party stands firmly with the people of Delhi in this struggle.”
