Desperate stunt: BJP, Congress slam Kejriwal over slum demolition protest
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress launched attacks on former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday, accusing him of hypocrisy and political theatrics over his protest at Jantar Mantar against slum demolitions.Reacting to the Aam Aadmi Party's 'Ghar Rozgar Bachao Andolan', Delhi BJP president Virender Sachdeva called the campaign a 'desperate stunt' aimed at diverting attention from AAP's governance failures. 'Kejriwal owes the people an answer — how many houses has his government actually given to slum dwellers in the last 10 years?' he asked.advertisement'He left the Narela flats in ruins because of his stubbornness. Today's event, held in the name of jhuggi residents, had no clear direction till 11 am It was purely political theatre,' Sachdeva added.
Earlier, while addressing the protest at Jantar Mantar, Kejriwal accused Prime Minister Modi of breaking promises made to slum dwellers. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi 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,' the AAP chief said.Kejriwal also took a sharp personal swipe at the Prime Minister, calling him a 'liar' and urged slum dwellers not to vote for the BJP or Congress. AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj echoed the attack, saying, 'If the BJP is hurt by the word 'jhootha', we'll call it 'asatya' instead — but the truth doesn't change.'advertisementHe alleged that the Rekha Gupta-led Delhi government had 'ruined' the city in just five months. '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,' he charged.Reacting to Kejriwal' statements, Sachdeva accused him of trying to 'rewrite history' and claimed that it was BJP workers who stepped up during the Covid crisis. 'While BJP workers were arranging food and shelter for slum dwellers, the AAP government was trying to evict them. Now Kejriwal wants to act like their savior, the people of Delhi are not fool,' he said.The BJP chief also condemned the language used by Kejriwal and senior AAP leader Gopal Rai against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 'The kind of words they are using for the Prime Minister reflects their Naxalite mindset. No civil society can accept this kind of behavior. Delhi has already rejected this 'kattar beimaan' (hardcore dishonest) and chaos-spreading Kejriwal.'Sachdeva rejected the AAP's accusations of slum demolitions under the BJP and said it was, in fact, Kejriwal's government that failed to rehabilitate slum dwellers. 'If courts had not stepped in, the condition of these people would have been even worse today,' he said, asserting BJP's commitment to providing permanent housing under the 'Jahan Jhuggi, Wahan Makan' initiative.advertisementMeanwhile, the Congress also dismissed Kejriwal's protest as a show of 'crocodile tears' and questioned his credibility on the issue of slum dwellers. Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav posed ten pointed questions to Kejriwal via social media, highlighting AAP's own actions against slums during its tenure.Among the key questions, Yadav asked: 'Is it not true that in 2021, Kejriwal approved the 'Jhuggi Hatao' scheme as Chief Minister? Why is he now pretending to stand with slum dwellers?'He further alleged that former minister Satyendar Jain had announced the closure of the 'Jahan Jhuggi, Wahan Makan' scheme in September 202. 'Now Kejriwal is shedding crocodile tears. Why?' Yadav asked.Targeting Kejriwal's use of public funds, the Congress asked, 'Did Kejriwal not use the votes of slum dwellers to build his grand 'Sheesh Mahal'? Now that slum residents are becoming homeless, why is he protesting?'Yadav also slammed the AAP for failing to fight for slum dwellers in the Supreme Court and not passing any resolution in the Delhi Assembly to protect them. 'When Congress fought in the Supreme Court, where was the AAP? Under whose pressure was this silence?' he questioned.The Congress accused Kejriwal of 'hypocrisy' and claimed that his tenure as Chief Minister contradicts his current stance as a supporter of the urban poor.- EndsMust Watch
IN THIS STORY#Delhi#AAM AADMI PARTY#Bharatiya Janta Party#Indian National Congress
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