NEW DELHI: A day after BJP leaders stayed overnight in Delhi’s slums as part of an outreach campaign, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused the saffron party of demolishing slums and deleting the names of slum dwellers from electoral rolls.
Led by its Delhi unit chief Virendra Sachdeva, BJP leaders stayed overnight in 1,194 slum clusters across the national capital to connect with the slum dwellers and address their concerns ahead of the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections.
However, addressing a press conference on Monday, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi criticised the BJP’s outreach efforts, accusing them of using the slums for show while actively working against their residents in the long run.
“For the past few days, BJP leaders have been visiting slum areas, clicking photos, and pretending to care about the residents. But I warn the brothers and sisters living in these jhuggis not to be deceived by this façade,” Atishi said.
“Wherever BJP leaders visit, they return months later to demolish those very slums. There are several examples of this.”
She pointed to the demolition of slums at Sundar Nursery, where BJP leaders had previously visited, played games with children, and posted pictures on social media.
“Just a few months later, during the peak of winter, the BJP-led central government obtained special court permission to demolish the Sundar Nursery slums, leaving families homeless in the middle of severe cold and during children’s exams,” Atishi added.
The senior AAP leader also alleged that BJP leaders were involved in removing slum dwellers’ names from voter lists. She cited the example of Shahdara’s Ambedkar Basti, where residents claimed that after BJP leaders visited their area, their names were deleted from the voter rolls.
‘Organised crime syndicate’
The case involves the arrest of AAP MLA Naresh Balyan and three others, Ritik alias Peter, Rohit alias Anna, and Sachin Chikara, who are in judicial custody. The police alleged Balyan’s arrest is linked to an organised crime syndicate