Former Delhi chief minister Atishi Marlena on Friday slammed the BJP’s alleged betrayal of the city’s working class families with the ongoing demolition drive in the national capital.
Photo: ANI
Former Delhi chief minister Atishi Marlena on Friday slammed the BJP’s alleged betrayal of the city’s working class families with the ongoing demolition drive in the national capital.
Speaking at a press conference here, she said, “During elections, PM Modi and the BJP promised ‘jahan jhuggi, wahan makaan’ (buildings in place of slums). But today, their guarantee has been exposed for what it truly is—‘jahan jhuggi, wahan maidan’ (grounds in place of slums).”
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The remarks came in light of the eviction notices served a day earlier to slum dwellers of Shalimar Bagh’s Indira Camp and Lal Bagh in Rohtash Nagar, which triggered panic and fear among jhuggi residents who now face the prospect of losing their homes.
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Marlena was joined by former Shalimar Bagh MLA Vandana Kumari, who highlighted the plight of jhuggi dwellers in Indira Camp. “Around 2 pm on Thursday, a notice was suddenly pasted, ordering residents to vacate their homes within 15 days. People were terrified and confused — they didn’t know what to do,” she said.
Kumari pointed out that despite repeated assurances from Chief Minister Rekha Gupta — who lives in the same constituency — a jhuggi in the camp has already been demolished. “People are scared and asking: where will they go after 15 days?” she added, stressing the residents’ deep anxiety over losing their shelter.
The Delhi Assembly LoP declared, “The truth is now clear—BJP never meant ‘Jahan Jhuggi, Wahan Makaan’. What they really meant was ‘Jahan Jhuggi hai, usey Maidan bana denge’ (all the existing jhuggis will be bulldozed and turned into grounds).”
In the past six months, demolitions have taken place in Madarasi Camp, Bhoomiheen Camp, Wazirpur, Jailorwala Bagh, Gokulpur, and Madipur.
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