New Delhi: AAP Delhi state president Saurabh Bhardwaj, in a press conference on Tuesday, sharply criticised the BJP’s actions against residents of slums and unauthorised colonies. He credited the June 29 Jantar Mantar protest, led by AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal, for marking a pivotal moment for Delhi’s poor and marginalised. The protest, part of the “Ghar Rozgar Bachao”
campaign, he said, exposed the BJP’s intentions and forced the party to retreat.
“Delhi’s poor showed their strength on Sunday, which led BJP to press the panic button,” said Bhardwaj. He alleged that BJP MLAs, who were absent when slums were being demolished and offered no support to the evicted, were now being seen visiting jhuggi-jhopdis with folded hands. He claimed the protest unsettled the BJP, as it signaled the growing
unity of the urban poor against the party. While congratulating the poor for raising their
voice, he also warned them not to trust the BJP.
Expressing solidarity with daily wage earners living in these settlements, Bhardwaj said the legal notices and demolition orders were part of a “coordinated conspiracy” by agencies under the BJP-led central government. “How will a daily wage worker earning Rs 500 a day fight the government in high courts?” he asked. Since most affected families are unaware of
the legal cases filed against them and lack the means to defend themselves, Bhardwaj demanded the immediate withdrawal of all such cases.