NEW DELHI: AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Friday alleged that BJP has branded Purvanchalis as ‘Rohingyas’ and ‘Bangladeshis’ and is seeking to disenfranchise voters from the community.
Speaking at a press conference, the AAP chief said just two days ago, BJP president JP Nadda made offensive remarks against the ‘Purvanchali’ community during a session in Parliament as he compared the Purvanchalis living in Delhi to Rohingya and Bangladeshis, and further stated that BJP workers were filling out forms to have their names removed from voter lists.”
“We strongly condemn this act and regard it as a well-planned conspiracy against an entire community. On the one hand, BJP leaders brand Purvanchalis as Rohingyas and Bangladeshis; on the other, they attempt to strip them of their citizenship,” Kejriwal said.
He further said, “How can Purvanchalis, who have lived in Delhi for 30-40 years after migrating from UP and Bihar and contributed to its development, be labeled as Rohingyas? As we all know, a voter card is essential not only for voting but also for accessing several government services. By targeting voter cards, BJP is effectively depriving Purvanchalis of basic services and benefits.”
“This is a disgusting and premeditated conspiracy by the BJP, as the majority of Delhi’s Purvanchali community supports the AAP. Previously, we exposed the voter list submitted by the BJP to the Election Commission, which contained 11,000 names from Shahdara alone that BJP wanted to be deleted. In addition, we revealed similar lists from 14 other constituencies, where thousands of names are being struck off,” pointed out the AAP Chief.
Kejriwal also read out a few names purportedly of deleted voters and said, “All these individuals are members of the Purvanchali community from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar who have lived in Delhi for 30-40 years.”
The AAP chief also shared the development works undertaken by the government for the community during the past decade.
“Delhi has 1,797 unauthorised colonies, and today, we have laid water pipelines in 1,650 of them. Over 10,000 km of roads and streets have been constructed, 6,800 km of drainage systems have been installed, and 4,000 km of water pipelines have been laid. We’ve built schools, mohalla clinics, and installed CCTV cameras to improve security,” he said.
Reacting to Kejriwal’s allegations, the Delhi BJP said the former CM is an expert at changing both his face and his statements as per the situation.
BJP’s Delhi unit chief Virendra Sachdeva said Purvanchalis have not forgotten his statement of September 30, 2019, when he said, “Biharis come to Delhi with a 500-rupee ticket, get 5 lakh worth of free treatment, and leave.”
He said people from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Haryana have not forgotten that Kejriwal has repeatedly stated that Delhi’s border hospitals and schools are under heavy pressure from outsiders.
The Delhi BJP president mentioned that not only people from Purvanchal but everyone around Delhi has not forgotten that on June 6, 2020, Arvind Kejriwal made an issue out of the pressure from Bihar residents on Delhi’s healthcare services and imposed a ban on treatment for outsiders in Delhi’s hospitals. However, after strong opposition from the BJP, the Lieutenant Governor had to revoke the ban.
Sachdeva remarked that whether it’s the Purvanchal society or any other community in Delhi, everyone knows that the corruption in Kejriwal’s Yamuna cleaning project is the reason why people from Purvanchal cannot perform their traditional Chhath Puja by the riverside in Delhi.