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New Indian Express
30-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
BJP destroyed homes in just five months: Former CM Arvind Kejriwal
NEW DELHI: Hundreds of jhuggi residents from across the capital gathered at Jantar Mantar following widespread demolitions, responding to a mobilisation call by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Addressing the crowd, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal said that it has only been five months since the BJP formed the government, and already the situation in Delhi has deteriorated to such an extent that people have been forced to gather in protest. Kejriwal alleged that PM Narendra Modi's real intention was never to provide homes to the poor but to wipe them out completely. 'What he truly meant was 'Jahan Jhuggi, Wahan Maidan.' That's why, one by one, your homes are being razed to the ground,' he said. Comparing the PM's 'guarantee' to a fake product, he warned people not to fall for it again: 'Don't trust PM Modi's guarantees—they are counterfeit, hollow lies.' Speaking at the 'Ghar-Rozgar Bachao' campaign, Kejriwal said, 'It's only been five months since the BJP government was formed, and look at what they've done to Delhi already. They've pushed the city to such a state that people from all over Delhi are protesting at Jantar Mantar.' He recalled warning the public earlier: 'I had released a video message specifically for the poor and marginalised jhuggi residents. I clearly said—don't vote for them. Their eyes were always on your land. I told you that if they came to power, they'd demolish your jhuggis within a year.' 'I never imagined they would wreck the city in just five months,' he added. 'Why have so many people left their homes and gathered here? It's because they've sent in bulldozers, destroying Delhi inch by inch. People have no option left but to protest.' 'In this unbearable heat, with temperatures crossing 50 degrees Celsius, they are mercilessly tearing down jhuggis. Children are crying, education is disrupted, and families are being thrown onto the streets without a second thought,' he said. Kejriwal also pointed out that demolitions destroy livelihoods. 'Women work in nearby homes as domestic workers, men as drivers or guards. Once jhuggis are gone, their income disappears too,' he said. Meanwhile, AAP's protest sparked political backlash. BJP leaders accused AAP of promoting 'anarchist' and 'anti-national' sentiments. During the protest, Delhi Minister Gopal Rai issued a fiery ultimatum to the Centre: 'If you bulldoze homes without rehabilitation… we'll enter the PM's house and take control!'
Hindustan Times
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Political row snowballs over demolition drives in Delhi
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday got into a war of words over demolition drives being undertaken in the Capital. While the AAP's national convener Arvind Kejriwal alleged that the BJP-led Delhi government has gone back on its pre-poll promise of not disrupting slum clusters, BJP's Delhi unit chief Virendra Sachdeva said that Kejriwal had built a 'Sheeshmahal' for himself and questioned why slum dwellers were not given flats in Narela and Bawana, as the BJP has done. A demolition drive in Wazirpur on June 16. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo) On Sunday morning, Kejriwal led a protest rally at Jantar Mantar, wherein he attacked the BJP and accused it of 'ruining Delhi in just five months.' Urging slum dwellers to protest against demolition drives, he said they must not vote for the BJP or the Congress in future elections. Sachdeva, meanwhile, called Kejriwal's public rally a 'flop' and said the AAP leaders 'once again exposed their anarchic and unconstitutional character'. He said that the AAP leadership had been spreading confusion for a month, but 'the slum dwellers of Delhi have rejected this false campaign.' At Jantar Mantar, Kejriwal said, 'Prime Minister Narendra Modi (in run up to elections) had said 'Jahan Jhuggi, Wahan Makan', but what he meant was 'Jahan Jhuggi, Wahan Maidan'. His promises are false and I urge you not to fall for them in future.' 'We had left a perfectly fine Delhi. But these people have ruined it. There are long power cuts, school fees have been hiked, and their ministers and MLAs are busy looting Delhi,' Kejriwal alleged. At the rally, dubbed as 'Ghar-Rozgar Bachao' movement, he urged the slum dwellers to unite. 'There are 40 lakh slum dwellers in the city. If you take to the roads, they will be forced to stop the demolitions,' Kejriwal said. 'The Anna movement started from this Jantar Mantar and it removed the Congress from power. From here, a new movement will begin, and the BJP's hold on power will also be shaken,' he said. In his 16-minute-long address, he also accused the BJP of targeting AAP leaders by lodging FIRs against them. 'Stop this game of FIRs and work for the people,' he said. Hundreds of rally participants were carrying placards with messages to save jhuggies and livelihoods, while some held images of the Constitution. 'I have four daughters who used to go to school but now cannot as they have to work,' said Santoshi Maurya, a resident of Jailorwala Bagh, whose house was demolished. 'Around 500 of us have not been allotted flats yet, despite having all the documents. The documents which the government allowed me to vote with, are now not enough,' she added. The political row comes amid a series of demolition drives at Wazirpur, Taimoor Nagar, Madrasi Camp, and Kalkaji, among other places. Delhi BJP chief Sachdeva alleged that the 'AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Gopal Rai, and others, in the name of slum dwellers, incited their workers to storm the Prime Minister's residence.' 'Ordinary slum residents in Delhi were asking Kejriwal: 'You've built a 'Sheeshmahal' for yourself in ten years — why haven't you allocated flats to the poor in places like Narela or Bawana?' he said. Sachdeva said that the BJP government was committed to giving a better life to slum dwellers, who were compelled to live in 'hellish conditions' along drains and railway tracks. 'Just as we have resettled slum dwellers from Kalkaji, Jailorwala Bagh, Kalandar Colony, and Kathputli Colony, going forward, through the 'Jahan Jhuggi Wahan Makan' campaign, we will continue to provide new homes and new lives to slum residents,' he said. Delhi Congress chief Devendra Yadav said that Kejriwal was 'baking political bread' on the plight of the poor slum dwellers, as the AAP had failed to provide them a better life by implementing the in-situ construction of flats started by the Congress government. 'Over 11 years, the AAP government neither constructed any flat for the slum dwellers nor allotted the 45,000 flats constructed by the Congress government under the Rajiv Ratan Awas Yojna. Kejriwal is now shedding crocodile tears,' he said.
