"AAP will hold protests to save Delhi's jhuggis from BJP's bulldozers": Saurabh Bharadwaj

New Delhi [India], June 29 (ANI): Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will hold a massive protest at Jantar Mantar on Sunday, led by AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, senior leader Manish Sisodia, and Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj, against the BJP's alleged demolition of jhuggis in Delhi, party said in a release.
Senior AAP leader and Delhi Unit President Saurabh Bharadwaj said the BJP has "betrayed" the very people who trusted them and voted them into power.
"During the Delhi elections, PM Narendra Modi and other senior BJP leaders made a solemn promise to the poor living in jhuggis that homes would be built for them at the very sites of their jhuggi settlements. The poor, believing in this promise, voted for the BJP. But merely days after forming the government, the BJP began a merciless campaign of evictions," he said.
The AAP Delhi Unit Chief claimed that over 10,000 jhuggis have already been demolished, displacing more than one lakh residents, rendering them homeless and without any form of shelter or security.
"Where houses have been given, they are in remote locations devoid of basic amenities. Many families have not been given any housing at all under the pretext of being ineligible, forcing them to live on the streets," he added.
Calling out the BJP's agenda, Saurabh Bharadwaj said, "The BJP is anti-poor. Their real goal is to push the poor out of Delhi. That's why they are targeting one jhuggi after another. In the coming days, many more settlements are slated for demolition. It is critical that the jhuggi residents unite and raise their voices in resistance."
He assured full support from the AAP, saying, "AAP has always stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the poor. Under Arvind Kejriwal's leadership, we provided all basic facilities in these settlements and gave residents a life of dignity. Now, the BJP government is trying to destroy that dignity."
Earlier on June 11, Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa defended the Delhi Development Authority's (DDA) action against illegal encroachment and said that those whose slums have been removed have been given separate houses.
Speaking to the media, Sirsa slammed the Aam Aadmi Party for spreading lies and misleading the people."No slum will be demolished. No person will be removed from the slum...Those whose slums have been removed have been given separate houses...They (AAP) are telling lies only to mislead the people of Delhi. Now they (AAP) are out of power. I want to ask them whether they have given a house to even a single slum dweller?... Prime Minister Modi has said 'Jahan jhuggi wahi makaan," Manjinder Sirsa said. (ANI)