New Delhi [India], January 12: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal launched a sharp attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleging that the BJP plans to demolish Delhi’s slums within the next five years, leaving the residents homeless.
Speaking to reporters at a slum camp, Kejriwal criticized BJP leaders for their lack of empathy toward slum dwellers. “We’ve seen BJP leaders visit slums, but they haven’t stayed for years—it’s only been a month. They don’t care about the people living there. The BJP is a party of the rich. They see slum dwellers as mere votes during elections, and after the polls, they are only interested in their land,” Kejriwal said.
Responding to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent statement, Kejriwal accused him of misleading the slum dwellers. “Amit Shah ji lied to the slum dwellers of Delhi. He said, ‘Jaha jhuggi, waha makaan,’ but he didn’t clarify whose ‘makaan’—they mean ‘Jaha jhuggi, waha inke dost ke makaan,'” Kejriwal alleged, suggesting that the BJP’s plans would benefit their friends rather than the slum residents.
Kejriwal further claimed that the BJP had failed to provide adequate housing for the slum dwellers, citing the 4,700 houses built in Delhi over the last decade. “There are 4 lakh jhuggis in Delhi, and in 10 years, only 4,700 houses have been built. At this pace, it will take 1,000 years to provide homes for everyone. The BJP doesn’t want to build houses; they are lying,” he stated. “In the next five years, the BJP will demolish these slums, leaving people homeless and forcing them onto the streets.”
The BJP, on the other hand, has criticized the AAP government, accusing it of corruption, inefficiency in implementing welfare schemes, and failing to tackle pollution in the city. The BJP has even coined the term “AAPda” to describe what it claims is the negative impact of AAP’s rule in Delhi.
As the Delhi Assembly elections approach, scheduled for February 5, political tensions between AAP and BJP continue to rise. The Congress, which previously ruled Delhi for 15 years, has seen a decline in support, while AAP dominated the 2020 elections, securing 62 out of 70 seats, leaving the BJP with just eight.
The election timeline includes the last date for filing nominations on January 17, scrutiny of nominations on January 18, and the withdrawal of candidacy by January 20, with the vote counting set for February 8.