NEW DELHI: It was Wednesday morning and hundreds of slum dwellers were waiting for BJP candidate Praveen Khandelwal and Goa CM Pramod Sawant under a tent raised before a multistory condominium in Jailorwala Bagh of Chandni Chowk constituency.
The event is a public address and the giant residential towers housing 1,700 units in the backdrop constructed under the DDA’s “Jahan Jhuggi Wahan Makaan” under Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojna is the campaign pitch by the party.
Khandelwal’s address revolved around the rhetoric of “successful” schemes run by the Modi government with focus on how people benefitted from PM Aawas Yojna.
In the end, he took a jibe on Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. “Unlike Delhi, Goa has a remarkable CM who has changed the UT into a development factory. Delhi has been unfortunate in this aspect,” he said.
Taking a cue from Khandelwal, Sawant furthered the attack on the AAP supremo. “While our Modi sarkar is building crores of pakka houses for the underpriviledged, Kejriwal has built a mansion worth Rs 150 crores. In that mansion, his sister like Swati Maliwal was assaulted by his very close aide. He is protecting the assaulter,” Sawant said.
Interestingly, when Sawant asked who got the house in the building behind the stage, a few pairs of hands were raised from the crowd. The question was improvised promptly: “How many of you want a house in a building like this?” Almost everyone raised their hands.
Outside the complex, a crowd of 50-60 women waited for the person who had asked them to attend the meeting. “The security here is not allowing us to go inside. No one is telling us whether we will get a flat here,” said a middle-aged woman, Poonam .A group of people who had been allotted flats for the project were present. “I paid ` 1,76,000 to the DDA for allotment. It’s been two years. I have to pay interest and rent of the house as well. I earn only Rs 4,000. It’s tough to manage. They should tell us when we will get our flats,” said Ramdayi, who works as a house help.
When asked whether a house by the Centre or the welfare schemes by the Delhi government would decide their votes, a woman named Anshu Khan said, “A few hundred rupees saved after free electricity and bus rides can’t overpower the dignity a pakka house brings.”