Delhiites refuse to attend PM Modi’s rally; they are not with BJP, which grabbed power through deceits: Saurabh Bharadwaj

New Delhi: Delhiites have refused to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally, forcing BJP to drag Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) teachers, sanitation workers, malaria staff, and even street vendors under threat to fill crowds. AAP Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj asserted that BJP seized power in Delhi through deceit and money, only to bulldoze poor people’s homes, hike school fees, and betray the very citizens now rejecting them.

Addressing a press conference, AAP Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj stated, “Today Prime Minister Narendra Modi is holding a rally in Delhi. Since the BJP has come to power in Delhi after 27 years, they planned a grand rally with a target of gathering around one lakh people.”

He added, “But in the last six months, the way BJP has treated the people of Delhi, the condition they have created for them, the people are so angry that they do not want to attend the Prime Minister’s rally. That is why the BJP is being forced to drag government employees with the stick to fill the crowd at Narendra Modi’s rally.”

Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “It is shameful that BJP is compelling MCD employees, malaria department staff, licensing officials, and even school teachers of MCD schools to attend the rally under coercion. Looking at such actions, it is natural for every ordinary person to ask what exactly has happened in six months that people are unwilling to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally.”

Pointing to the festival of Janmashtami, Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “Yesterday was Janmashtami. On this day, people of the Hindu faith fast and after midnight visit temples, take prasad, return home and end up sleeping around 2 a.m. The next day, a very large number of people perform Navami puja.”

He added, “It is deeply shameful that employees who worked yesterday during the day and were up late at night in temples for prayers and rituals, were ordered by BJP’s MCD to report at 7 a.m. today on a holiday. They were threatened that their attendance would be marked.”

Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “On a holiday when people were supposed to rest or perform puja, Deputy Commissioners sat in their respective offices across all zones and issued orders to employees of different departments, mobilising them for PM Modi’s rally. I am placing before you one such order issued by the Deputy Commissioner of the Education Department of the Central Zone.”

He explained, “The order clearly states that MCD school teachers must report at the given spot by 7 a.m., from where buses would leave at 7:30 a.m. for the Prime Minister’s rally. It was further threatened that all teachers selected by the Deputy Commissioner must compulsorily attend the rally. If this is not dictatorship, then what is?”

The AAP Delhi Unit President asked, “Why is it that people of Delhi are refusing to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally? The reason is simple — the people of Delhi are not with the BJP.”

He said, “The BJP won the Delhi elections through deceit. Votes were deleted, fake votes were created, money was distributed, state machinery was misused, and in this way BJP grabbed power in Delhi. After seizing power by cheating, the BJP increased private school fees, which has angered the middle class.”

He continued, “Bulldozers were run on jhuggi settlements and people’s livelihoods, leaving lakhs of people homeless and snatching away their means of earning. This has angered the marginalized. In the recent rains, due to BJP’s negligence, 30 people lost their lives in different places. Today, the situation is such that people are ready to gather for the protection of stray dogs, but not ready to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally.”

During the press conference, Saurabh Bharadwaj also showed some videos from different places. He said, “It can be clearly seen that sanitation workers were forcibly taken away without being told and put into buses for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally. In one video, a woman sanitation worker herself is saying that on this holiday, despite us having to perform Navmi puja, we were forcibly called and put into a bus without being told where we were being taken.”

Saurabh Bharadwaj added, “This shows the pathetic condition of BJP — they are now forcing poor women sanitation workers without informing them, just to inflate crowds at rallies. And it is not just government employees. Licensing department officials have also threatened street vendors in Delhi, saying they must attend PM Modi’s rally, otherwise they would not be allowed to put up their stalls. This is the reality of BJP in Delhi today — the poor are not willing to attend their rallies, and the rich are not even willing to watch BJP on TV.”