
AAP leaders visit Madrasi Camp to support residents
NEW DELHI: AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh along with the AAP Delhi state president Saurabh Bharadwaj, visited Madrasi Camp in Jangpura on Sunday to support affected residents. Singh has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging an immediate halt to the eviction drive in Delhi's jhuggi clusters and proper rehabilitation for displaced families.
He stated that families living in Madrasi Camp for over five decades are being forcibly displaced in the name of development, despite earlier BJP promises of housing under the slogan 'Jahan jhuggi, wahan makan'.
'Bulldozers rolled into Madrasi Camp without notice. Women, children, and the elderly were forced to run for safety and left with nothing. No arrangements were made for relocation, no rehabilitation, no humanity,' added the AAP MP.
He said that residents have valid documents, including Aadhaar and voter IDs, and their livelihoods, schools, and community ties are based there. He criticised the alternative housing in far-off Narela as unviable. Singh demanded an immediate stop to all demolitions and called for on-site rehabilitation.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Indian Express
15 minutes ago
- Indian Express
‘Infiltration, violence, obstructed Central schemes': Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav slams Bengal government ahead of 2026 Assembly elections
Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav, addressing a press conference in a Kolkata hotel, launched a scathing attack on the West Bengal government, accusing it of perpetuating 'unchecked infiltration, pervasive violence, and obstruction of Central welfare schemes'. With the 2026 Assembly elections in mind, Yadav said a 'befitting reply' would come from the people of Bengal in a BJP victory. The Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change was part of the press conference in Kolkata on the completion of 11 years of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government. He claimed that the Bengal government is responsible for 'helping infiltrators settle in the state' and 'opposing the Centre's steps to stop infiltration', while urging it to help Central forces identify and deport 'illegal' foreign nationals. 'The biggest impact of infiltration falls on the law and order of a state,' he said. Upon being asked about their strategies to tackle post-poll violence in the state, Yadav dismissed the idea that it was confined to the post-election period. 'It happens in Bengal throughout,' he stated, invoking incidents in Murshidabad and Sandeshkhali. 'The biggest sadness is violence has become part of Bengal,' he said, questioning the state's ability to function amidst 'community-based violence' fueled by 'appeasement' politics. 'It is sad that people under their own government are forced to flee their homes,' said Yadav. 'By talking about post-poll violence, we would restrict violence to two months, whereas on the ground, it is happening round the clock. People of Bengal are not ready to forgive this government. We are fighting post-poll violence democratically.' Yadav also criticised the state government's 'resistance' to Central schemes, claiming it opposed the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Ayushman Bharat Yojana and the Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma Yojana. He said, 'A large section of OBC workers are here; what is her scientific logic behind including and excluding people?' 'The Sandeshkhali and Murshidabad incidents are the poster of Mamata Banerjee's bad governance… while the Centre has proved that India will not tolerate terrorism…I don't take it in a good way that they are talking ill of Operation Sindoor. On Operation Sindoor, all political parties have been a representative of an international delegation,' Yadav said. Yadav alleged that 'not a single month passes without reports of attacks on women' in Bengal, claiming that the state did not take action during the violence in Murshidabad, which broke out on April 8. 'Instead, the responsibility of maintaining peace and security in the state was left to the Centre,' he claimed. Regarding the deployment of forces during the elections, he stated, 'The Election Commission is discussing it with all political parties and it will decide on the deployment of the forces.' Meanwhile, on the subject of climate action, Yadav highlighted Central initiatives. 'There is a beautiful name of a plan which is Project Mishti' he said, also mentioning 'Mission Life,' which focuses on seven key areas: saving water, saving food, saving energy, solid waste management, e-waste disposal, and a complete ban on single-use plastic. He stressed the importance of 'individual responsibility', stating, 'People must think about it.' Sweety Kumari reports from West Bengal for The Indian Express. She is a journalist with over a decade of experience in the media industry. Covers Crime, Defence, Health , Politics etc and writes on trending topics. With a keen eye for investigative and human-interest stories. She has honed her craft across diverse beats including aviation, health, incidents etc. Sweety delivers impactful journalism that informs and engages audiences. Sweety Kumari is a graduate of Calcutta University with an Honors degree in Journalism from Jaipuria College and a PG in Mass Communication from Jadavpur University. Originally from Bihar, she is brought up in Kolkata and completed her education from Kendriya Vidyalaya SaltLake. Multilingual, Sweety is fluent in English, Hindi, Bengali, and Maithili. She started her career as an Entertainment and lifestyle journalist with a newsportal in Kolkata. She is working with The Indian Express for 8 years now. ... Read More


Time of India
28 minutes ago
- Time of India
India calls for urgent global action to protect ocean, commits to early ratification of High Seas Treaty
Image used for representative image NEW DELHI: India on Tuesday called for urgent global action on ocean health at the 3rd UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France, with Union minister of earth sciences Jitendra Singh urging the international community to invest in innovation, ratify the 'High Seas Treaty', and finalise a legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution. 'The ocean is our shared heritage and responsibility,' said Singh, expressing India's readiness to work with all stakeholders - govts, the private sector, civil society, and indigenous communities - to ensure a sustainable ocean future. He was delivering the country's statement at the conference. One of the core objectives of the five-day conference, which is co-hosted by France and Costa Rica, is to help bring into force the landmark 'High Seas Treaty' - Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement - adopted in 2023 to safeguard life in international waters through long-term protection of marine biodiversity in the high seas. Once ratified by 60 countries, it will become law of the sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. Fifty members (49 countries and the EU) have already submitted their ratifications, while 15 others, including India, committed to doing it soon, paving the way for its coming into force in the next four months. Singh, while addressing the conference, also highlighted the multiple measures being taken by India in sync with its commitment to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14: Life Below Water, and outlined how the country's initiatives are aimed at reversing ocean degradation through science, innovation, and inclusive partnerships. He shared the progress made on India's Deep Ocean Mission and its 'Samudrayaan' project, which is expected to deploy the country's first manned submersible by 2026. The project aims to explore ocean depths up to 6,000 meters and is seen as a major leap in India's scientific capability. A nationwide ban on single-use plastic items of high littering potential, implementation of over $80 billion worth of 'Blue Economy' projects, supporting a legally binding global plastics treaty, and the launch of the 'SAHAV' digital ocean data portal are some of the initiatives which found prominence in the minister's speech at the global forum. The SAHAV portal - a GIS-based decision support system - works as a tool to empower policymakers, researchers, and communities with real-time spatial data, enabling smarter planning and stronger marine resilience. Singh also spoke of expanding India's marine protected areas, which now cover 6.6% of the Exclusive Economic Zone, contributing to global biodiversity goals. He underlined that India has integrated ocean-based climate actions into its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.


Indian Express
30 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Siddaramaiah's caste survey report ‘scrapped', says BJP after Congress asks Karnataka govt to relook at population data
After the Congress high command asked the Karnataka government led by the party to re-enumerate the population of various communities in the state to update its Socio-economic and Educational Survey report, the Opposition BJP criticised Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for his 'usual recklessness' and sought an apology. Taking to X, Karnataka BJP general secretary Sunil Kumar Karkala contended that the Congress high command 'has scrapped the caste census report prepared by the state government.' The report, he said, was 'even scheduled to be approved in a cabinet meeting at Nandi Hills. But the Congress high command has now stepped in, rejected the report, and asked for a re-census within a time frame, citing inaccuracies in the data,' he posted. The BJP demanded an apology from the Siddaramaiah and the Congress for creating 'discontent among communities', alleging that the chief minister had pushed for the report marred by discrepancies to be accepted by the cabinet Earlier in the day, the Congress leadership advised the government to re-enumerate population numbers of various castes, while granting 'in-principle' approval to the report prepared by the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes (KSCBC). The high command said the numbers presented in the report were a decade old. The decision was announced by Congress general secretary K C Venugopal after the high command held a meeting with Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar over the matter. The survey was commissioned in 2015 during Siddaramaiah's first term as chief minister but was placed before the cabinet only in April this year. The cabinet is yet to accept the report and has sought written opinions from ministers about the findings and recommendations of the report. Dominant communities have opposed the report as the survey has found that the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) formed 70 per cent of the state's population and dismissed assumptions about the size of the Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities. OBC groups, however, have sought the government to accept the report. 'This report, which was prepared at a cost of Rs 150 crore, is a huge waste of taxpayer money and does a great disservice to the backward and marginalised communities. The BJP had repeatedly pointed out that there were discrepancies in the data of the caste census report and demanded that it be re-examined. However, Siddaramaiah continued with his usual recklessness even in such a sensitive matter,' said Kumar, BJP MLA for Karkala and a former minister. Not just Siddaramaiah, the Congress high command has also hurt the sentiments of backward and marginalised communities, Kumar alleged. 'For the past decade, Siddaramaiah has been fooling the people on this very issue, creating discontent and dissatisfaction among communities,' the BJP leader said, demanding an apology from Siddaramaiah and the Congress.