New Delhi, July 25 -- As the Delhi administration turned its demolition drive toward Shalimar Bagh's Indira Camp and Lal Bagh in Rohtash Nagar, former CM Atishi vowed to resist the demolitions and slammed the BJP for "betraying Delhi's working class families".
"The PM's guarantee has been exposed for what it truly is-'jahan jhuggi, wahan maidan'," she said, referring to the BJP's unfulfilled promise of providing pucca homes before any demolitions. "In the past six months, demolitions have taken place in various jhuggis, including Madarasi Camp, Wazirpur, and Jailerwala Bagh. Now two more demolitions are planned," she said. Atishi further noted how jhuggi-dwellers had been residing at Indira Camp since the 1990s and were issued government tokens as proof of residence. She warned that the BJP should not underestimate the strength of the poor, as they "run Delhi; they work in homes, shops, factories; they drive autos, rickshaws, and buses" - adding that if their homes were destroyed, they would come to the streets and stop Delhi from functioning.
Former Shalimar Bhagh MLA Vandana Kumari recounted the panic that spread in Indira Camp on Thursday, calling the demolition drive "part of BJP's anti-poor agenda". She remarked that bulldozers would be allowed only after pucca homes are provided to Indira Camp residents.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.