In a response to the BJP-led Delhi government’s demolition drive targeting jhuggi settlements, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAM) has announced a major protest at Jantar Mantar on June 29. Delhi AAP President Saurabh Bharadwaj, calling the BJP “anti-poor”, has urged all jhuggi residents across the national capital to gather in large numbers to resist the bulldozers tearing through their homes. “Before demolishing homes, the BJP must first honour its own promise of ‘jahan jhuggi, wahin makaan’,” Saurabh Bharadwaj said, adding that senior AAP leaders will join the protest to amplify the voice of Delhi’s most vulnerable.
Senior AAP leader and Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj that ever since the BJP came to power in Delhi through the backdoor, one by one, large-scale jhuggi clusters are being wiped out using bulldozers. “In Rohini Sector-22 of Bawana, there was a jhuggi-jhopri cluster. About a month ago, around 11 AM, a fire broke out in that jhuggi. In that fire, two innocent children were burnt alive,” he said.
The AAP Delhi State President pointed out that the people hoped that someone from the Delhi government—a minister or the Chief Minister—would come and give them assurance, but no one came. In the evening, we reached the jhuggi and residents told us that neither the BJP’s local MLA nor any minister came to visit them.
He added that at the time of the fire, just a short distance away in Bawana, the BJP-appointed Chief Minister, local BJP MLA, and a minister were listening to the Prime Minister’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’. “But no one came to inquire about the tragedy in the jhuggi. The grieving parents told us, crying, that the father had gone rag-picking and the mother had gone to work as domestic help. A four-year-old child was alone at home. When the fire broke out, the child hid inside the cooler and burned to death in the same position.”
Saurabh Bharadwaj further revealed, “Two days after the fire, the BJP government brought in bulldozers and cleared the entire jhuggi, forcefully evicting all the residents. That is why suspicion arises—who started the fire, who conspired? First the fire, then the bulldozers—everything was wiped clean and people were driven out. A similar pattern was followed in the Madrasi Camp. Residents there had settled from Tamil Nadu 40–50 years ago. Many of them were even born there. Their grandparents came and built lives here. The government demolished nearly 800 jhuggis in the Madrasi Camp.”
He pointed out the blatant betrayal of the jhuggi residents: “The BJP distributed ‘Jahan Jhuggi, Wahan Makaan’ cards everywhere. Every resident in Madrasi Camp has a card with their name and jhuggi number. The card carries Modi ji’s guarantee—‘Jahan Jhuggi, Wahan Makaan’. It’s time for all of us to unite and raise our voice. Delhi’s jhuggi dwellers are in the lakhs. If these lakhs of people rise together and speak up, the government will be forced to listen. Aam Aadmi Party will launch a large-scale agitation in Delhi. We will unite all jhuggi dwellers and on Sunday, 29th June at 10 AM, everyone will gather at Jantar Mantar to raise their voice.”
Saurabh Bharadwaj said that ever since the BJP assumed control, bulldozers have been relentlessly used against poor jhuggi dwellers. “The AAP strongly opposes this. The BJP made a clear promise—where there is a jhuggi, a home will be provided. The government cannot demolish the jhuggis without providing alternative housing. No court in this country is stopping the government from giving houses. The Delhi government is not approaching the Supreme Court to block any court orders. This is the same BJP that had gone against the Supreme Court’s orders and passed a law in Parliament. What is stopping the BJP from bringing a law against jhuggi demolition now? BJP is hiding behind court orders to erase jhuggis. The government must first provide homes, and only then can it remove jhuggis.”
Saurabh Bharadwaj concluded by announcing that the people of Delhi’s jhuggis have made up their minds—they will raise their voices at Jantar Mantar on June 29 at 10 AM, and expose the truth of BJP’s central and Delhi governments before the entire nation.
