AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal challenged Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday, saying he would not run in the Delhi elections unless the BJP dropped its slum demolition cases and promised in court that all displaced people would be rehabilitated on the land they were forced to leave within 24 hours.
His remarks follow the BJP leader’s plea for slum dwellers “to liberate Dilli from this aapda (disaster)” at an address to a “Jhuggi Basti Pradhan Sammelan” the day before. “The only way to guarantee the welfare of Delhi’s slum dwellers is to throw out the AAP,” Shah stated.
Kejriwal, accompanied by MLA and former minister Satyendar Jain, stood outside the Railway Jhuggi Camp in the Shakur Basti constituency and referred to himself as the “protector of slums and slum residents.” He also claimed that the BJP only pays attention to slum inhabitants during election campaigns.
Recently, we witnessed BJP politicians spending the night in several slums. Why now? Ten years ago, why didn’t you come here to sleep at night? The whole purpose of all this Jhuggi tourism is to garner votes through drama. The BJP is an affluent party. They consider Jhuggi people to be insects, or keeda makoda. Do you believe that they are here because they adore the people of Jhuggi? “No, they are displaying affection in order to win your votes,” he replied.
Kejriwal attacked Shah, saying, “Shah called people from several jhuggis and abused me at an event yesterday.” According to the BJP, jahan jhuggi wahan makan. We support this plan as well. However, kiska makan jahan jhuggi wahan? Liye jhuggi walon ke? No. Builders ka makan, jahan jhuggi wahan inke dost ka makan. Everyone is aware of their identity.
“Remove all of the legal actions you have taken against the Jhuggis, and make a declaration in court that you will provide housing to everyone who was previously residing on the same piece of property. I’m not going to run for office. Accept the challenge I’ve given you. If not, Kejriwal will fight the elections, win, and act as a shield for the slum dwellers, refusing to allow you to demolish their homes,” he declared.
Citing how the Lieutenant Governor altered the land use of the Shakur Basti slum area to allow demolitions on December 27 of last year, the AAP convenor went on to say that the BJP would give land priority over slum-dwellers following the elections.
Additionally, he charged that in September, the Railways had put out a tender to remove the railway camp slum. “The BJP had a comprehensive plan to evacuate this region three months ago, but folks at this railway camp believe they will receive a house under the ‘Jahan Jhuggi Wahan Makan’ scheme. They will leave you homeless in at least two months if you vote for them and they win, Kejriwal said.
Later in the day, Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena attacked Kejriwal, calling his assertion a total fabrication. He cited last year’s December 27 DDA meeting when he stated, “The DDA has not issued any eviction or demolition notices or altered the land use of this colony. Kejriwal is purposefully misleading the public and uttering a flagrant untruth. On December 27, Kejriwal ji’s two MLAs attended the DDA meeting. Perhaps Kejriwal ji wouldn’t have lied if he had addressed them (the AAP MLAs). I would advise him to quit lying about this topic right away. DDA will take action against them if they don’t.
Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva retaliated against the AAP, claiming that Kejriwal has done nothing to turn slum clusters into model settlements or raise the standard of living for the locals over the past ten years by allowing 50,000 apartments constructed under the Rajiv Awas Yojana in places like Narela to fall into ruin without giving any of the apartments to any slum dwellers.
“The past ten years have demonstrated that Arvind Kejriwal is incapable of improving people’s lives—he can only incite them. You’ve held onto power for more than ten years. Kindly describe the actions taken by your administration, DUSIB, or any other department to improve slum inhabitants’ rehabilitation,” Sachdeva said.
