AAP Counters Lt Governor’s Attack On Arvind Kejriwal Over Slum ‘Land Use’

New Delhi:
In the midst of the upcoming Delhi assembly elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are intensely vying for the support of slum residents, a crucial segment of the capital’s electorate. On January 12, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal visited the Shakur Basti slum cluster in north Delhi, where he launched a scathing attack on the BJP, alleging that the party plans to demolish the slums and hand over the land to builders if it comes to power.
Kejriwal accused the BJP of prioritizing land acquisition over the welfare of slum dwellers, stating, “They want your votes first and your land after the elections.” He criticized the BJP’s ‘Jahan Jhuggi Wahan Makaan’ scheme, calling it an “eyewash” and highlighting that only 4,700 flats have been constructed for slum residents over the past five years, despite the presence of 400,000 slum dwellings in Delhi.
The AAP chief also challenged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to withdraw all court cases against slum residents and guarantee housing for them on the same land from which they were evicted. Kejriwal vowed not to contest the upcoming elections if Shah accepted this challenge. “Withdraw all the cases filed against slum residents and submit an affidavit in court guaranteeing that they will receive houses on the same land from which they were evicted. If you do this, I will not contest the elections,” he said.
In response to Kejriwal’s allegations, Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena denied any change in the land use of the slum area in Shakur Basti, calling Kejriwal’s claims “completely false.” Saxena stated that the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) had neither changed the land use nor issued any eviction notices, and that the land in question was a different plot with no slums on it.
The BJP also countered AAP’s claims, with Delhi BJP chief Sachdeva accusing the AAP government of failing to provide housing to slum dwellers. Sachdeva pointed out that 50,000 flats built under the Rajiv Awas Yojana in areas like Narela had been left to decay without being allotted to any slum residents. “In 10 years, Arvind Kejriwal has done nothing to transform slum clusters into model settlements or improve the living standards of the residents,” he said.
The AAP, however, stood firm on its allegations, releasing documents from the DDA’s technical committee meeting on December 20, which showed the approval of a land use change request for a 4.63-hectare plot in Shakur Basti. This move has further intensified the political battle between the two parties as they compete for the votes of Delhi’s slum residents.