In a scathing indictment of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government’s actions, senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi’s Cabinet Minister Shri Saurabh Bharadwaj has condemned the unlawful use of bulldozers on thousands of people’s ‘Jhuggis’ in Delhi. The Senior AAP leader highlighted the failure of the BJP government to fulfil Prime Minister Modi’s promise of “Jahan jhuggi, wahin makaan” (Where there are slums, there will be houses). Demanding accountability, Shri Bharadwaj questioned the silence on the action taken against officials responsible for these demolitions, while pointing out the High Court’s rebuke of the BJP government’s agency, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), for its unlawful acts. Emphasizing that these slum dwellers played a crucial role in electing BJP MPs. In a direct challenge to BJP MPs, the AAP leader called upon them to decide whether they stand with the people or their government.
In a press conference, AAP’s Senior Leader and Delhi’s Cabinet Minister Shri Saurabh Bhardwaj, said that about a year ago, in February 2023, the BJP-led central government’s agency Delhi Development Authority (DDA) demolished the homes of thousands of people in Gosiya Colony, located in Mahrauli, by running bulldozers in the daylight. When the Aam Aadmi Party opposed this illegal act, many BJP MPs and MLAs were seen spreading lies among the public, claiming that this demolition was being carried out by the Delhi government. The truth came out among the public when the colony residents approached the High Court regarding this matter.
“The High Court, while hearing the plea of the basti dwellers, imposed a stay on the demolition of about 400 such ‘Jhuggis’ and multi-story buildings located there, and also reprimanded the BJP-led central government’s agency DDA, saying that since this slum area is listed in the clustered area of Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), department of Delhi government, how can you demolish it?” He added.
Shri Saurabh Bhardwaj mentioned that despite this slum area being included in the listed clustered area of the DUSIB department of the Delhi government, the BJP-led central government was demolishing it illegally. “The BJP-led Central government which suspends officers on trivial matters, should tell what action has been taken against the officers who demolished the shelters of thousands of people illegally? So far no action has been taken against any officer because all these officers were only following the directives of the BJP-led central government,” he said.
The Senior AAP leader said that this series has not stopped here. For nearly a year now, the BJP-led central government has been illegally demolishing listed cluster areas in Delhi. “Everyone knows how the BJP government’s agency ESI demolished the Tughlaqabad slum area, displacing nearly 2.5 lakh people from their homes, and to this day, the central government has not provided any other place for them to live. There are many places like Dhaula Kuan, Pragati Maidan, Sundar Nursery, Jasola, where the BJP-led central government has illegally demolished listed cluster areas, displacing lakhs of people from their homes,” he added.
Shri Saurabh Bharadwaj stated, “Modi Ji promised the people of the country “Jahan jhuggi wahin makaan (housing where there are slums)” but the BJP government demolished ‘jhuggis’ from all these listed cluster areas, rendering people homeless, yet to this day, they have not been provided houses in exchange for their ‘jhuggis’.”
The Delhi Cabinet Minister shared that just a few days ago, near Karkardooma, the DDA of the BJP government also illegally demolished the Karkardooma JJ camp in the same manner, and those people were not provided with any other place to live. “At this moment, as I am holding this press conference, I have received information from one of our MLAs that even in Adarsh Nagar, near Azadpur Mandi, the DDA, an agency of the BJP government, is demolishing a ‘jhuggis’, meaning demolition work is ongoing at this moment as well. suddenly in Delhi, it is being observed that the number of people living under flyovers is increasing. People are living under flyovers with their little children and families in various places,” said Shri Saurabh Bharadwaj.
Shri Saurabh Bhardwaj said, “It is a law by the central government that before demolishing any ‘jhuggis’, alternative housing should be provided to the people living in that ‘jhuggi’. However, by disregarding its law, the central government is continuously demolishing ‘jhuggis’ in various places and the result of this is that people are forced to live under flyovers with their small children and families.”
Through the media, Saurabh Bhardwaj questioned the 7 MPs of the BJP from Delhi, saying that these slum dwellers had voted and elected all these MPs. “Today, these MPs should tell whether they are standing with these slum dwellers or with the BJP government, and if they are standing with the slum dwellers, then what steps have they taken so far to stop their government from demolishing the homes of these poor people? The 7 BJP MPs should tell if they have spoken to the chairman of the DDA to stop this demolition, have they written any letters to the DDA chairman? Have they had any meetings with the Lieutenant Governor regarding this matter? Shri Saurabh Bharadwaj concluded.
