"In five years they tried to demolish 48 slums, I saved 37 of them": Arvind Kejriwal accuses BJP of dismantling slums

New Delhi [India], December 16 (ANI): With Delhi assembly elections scheduled to be held in 2025, AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal slammed the BJP-led central government. and claimed that in the past five years, the BJP has attempted to demolish 48 slums in Delhi, but he has managed to save 37 of them.
"In five years they tried to demolish 48 slums, I saved 37 of them... They went to distribute salwar kameez for women in Shakurbasti... Take everything from them except liquor..."," Kejriwal asked the crowd.
The issue of slum demolition has been a contentious one in Delhi. In November 2023, a slum cluster was demolished following a court order, leaving around 1,000 to 1,500 people without homes. The slum dwellers had claimed that they were not provided with any alternative accommodation or rehabilitation.
"... BJP people are now thinking about the slum dwellers. God knows how many slums they have demolished in five years. The slums in which they are sleeping today, they will demolish these slums in some time. They went to play carrom board games with children in the slums of Sundar Nursery but later demolished those," Kejriwal said while addressing a gathering here.
Meanwhile, AAP released its fourth and final list of 38 candidates for the Delhi Assembly Elections 2025. According to the list, Kejriwal will contest from New Delhi, Chief Minister Atishi from Kalkaji, Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj from Greater Kailash, and Minister Gopal Rai from Babarpur.
Satyendra Kumar Jain has been fielded from Shakur Basti, Durgesh Pathak from Rajinder Nagar, Ramesh Pehalwan from Kasturba Nagar, Raghuvinder Shokeen from Nangloi Jat, Som Dutt from Sadar Bazar, Imran Hussain from Ballimaran, and Jarnail Singh from Tilak Nagar.
The list features two new names, while the remaining 36 candidates are sitting MLAs who have been re-nominated. AAP has fielded Ramesh Pehalwan from Kasturba Nagar and Naresh Balyan's wife, Pooja Naresh Balyan, from Uttam Nagar.
BJP leader Ramesh Pehalwan and his wife, Kusumlata Ramesh, officially joined the Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday. The couple was welcomed into the party by Arvind Kejriwal.
The Congress, which ruled Delhi for 15 consecutive years, has struggled in the last two assembly elections, failing to win a single seat. In the 2020 Assembly elections, AAP secured 62 out of 70 seats, while the BJP won eight. (ANI)