The Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Friday joined and upheld the ‘Mehram Nagar Bachao’ movement, tearing into the BJP-led government’s bulldozer raj against the poor. The Delhi unit president recalled how the BJP was forced to backtrack after a Mahapanchayat stopped its attempt to raze Haryana’s Anangpur village, warning that its fresh bid to demolish Mehram Nagar will now face the united opposition of ‘36 biradaris’ and 365 Delhi villages.
AAP Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj stated, “A few weeks ago there was an attempt to raze Anangpur village in Haryana, adjacent to Delhi, and bulldozers were sent there. Then there was a large mahapanchayat in Faridabad attended by people from Delhi-Haryana villages and rural areas and farmer unions from Uttar Pradesh. The national president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), Rakesh Tikait, also came and the government had to halt its action. Today people from all over Delhi’s villages and rural neighbourhoods — ‘36 biradaris’ and 365 villages — have gathered here to send a message to the government that such arbitrariness and goondaism will not be tolerated.”
Meanwhile, senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP, Sanjay Singh said, “During the Delhi election PM Modi promised ‘jahan jhuggi, wahan makaan’ (where there is a jhuggi, there will be a home). But, the BJP is bent on razing the 300-year-old Mehram Nagar village, not just demolishing jhuggis. The Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) fight is against the BJP’s bulldozer action.”
“For the last six months the BJP has not done any work in Delhi. When the BJP made the ‘jahan jhuggi-wahan makaan’ promise, Arvind Kejriwal warned Delhiites that if the BJP came to power it would demolish the houses of the poor. Once in power, the Rekha Gupta government razed the 70-year-old Madrasi Camp, where people had lived for two or three generations; they ran small stalls and vegetable shops,” he added.
Describing further demolitions, Sanjay Singh said, “Like Madrasi Camp, the BJP also demolished the jhuggis in Wazirpur, where people from Purvanchal, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar lived. The same happened to poor people living in the Vasant Kunj area. Now the BJP people have come to raze Mehram Nagar. People must fight this battle until their last breath. We will not allow a single structure to be removed from here. People must remain cautious of BJP members; they make the bulldozer their weapon.”
Commenting on a poster seen in Lucknow, he further added, “On Saturday in Lucknow a BJP supporter put up a poster saying ‘I love Yogi Adityanath Ji Bulldozer Baba’. We have heard of many babas, but now ‘bulldozer babas’ have arrived in the country. Such babas are found only in the BJP. If someone wants to run bulldozers on their own home, they should go with the BJP. Otherwise, be ready to fight against BJP policies until the last breath, as people are fighting today.”
Warning about the long term plan for Mehram Nagar, Sanjay Singh stated, “Mehram Nagar’s residents have been given temporary relief until 16 December, but do not be taken in by this assurance. PM Modi has his eye on Mehram Nagar because he wants to give it to his ‘owner’, Adani. That is why BJP people want to raze the village. These are people who are ready to be slaves of Adani and Ambani and dance to their tunes; they are willing to do anything for Adani. They will destroy people’s homes, land, hospitals and schools and then hand that land over to Adani to build industries and hotels.”
Posing the stark choice to the residents, the AAP MP said, “Now the people of Mehram Nagar must decide whether they will save their 300-year-old village or hand it over into the hands of PM Modi. Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP stand with the people of Mehram Nagar in every fight — from road protests to the Parliament. We will not allow the settlements of the poor to be razed. Whatever price must be paid for this, we are ready. AAP leaders have already faced jail and cases; now we are not afraid of jail, cases, sticks or batons.”
Warning against the BJP’s rhetoric, he emphasised, “Be cautious of BJP people and their politics of hatred. A BJP leader said technology has advanced so much that an ‘saffron iPhone’ is being made in America. They fool the public in this way. If a saffron-coloured knife is made in America and used to stab people in the back, the BJP will say ‘don’t be offended, it is a saffron-coloured knife.’”
He asserted, “These BJP people are like ‘Bhagwa-56-Chhuri’ (saffron-56- knives), so be careful of them. They are ready to stab people in the back and stomach with a saffron-coloured knife. If you get trapped in their Hindu-Muslim agenda, sometimes your home, sometimes your school or hospital will be destroyed. The BJP has come to Delhi to ruin the fate of Delhiites; they must be driven out of Delhi before they fulfil their objective.”
