New Delhi, Jun 8: Aam Aadmi Party’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj on Sunday visited the demolition site of the Madrasi Camp slum cluster, where they met with displaced residents, and intensified their attack on the BJP over the recent eviction drive.
They alleged that Prime Minister Modi’s promise to slum dwellers of ‘jahan jhuggi wahan makan’ – house at the site of their hutment – has “proved to be hollow like many others”.
There was no immediate response available from the BJP or the Delhi government over the accusations.
The Madrasi Camp — a jhuggi cluster situated along the Barapullah drain near Nizamuddin Railway Station — was home to nearly 370 families for almost 60 years. It was cleared by authorities after eviction notices were issued last month. However, only 189 families were deemed eligible for relocation to government flats in Narela.
Former Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, in a post on X, said, “AAP will fight for the rights of slum dwellers from the streets to the Parliament.
“BJP had promised ‘where there is a slum, there will be a house’, but after coming to power, it ran bulldozers and made the poor homeless. Hundreds of families were ruined by demolishing the slums of Madrasi Camp.”
Bharadwaj said that he, along with Sanjay Singh, met the affected families and assured them that AAP stands firmly with them during this crisis.
Sanjay Singh also took to X, condemning the eviction drive.
“People go broke building a house. You don’t feel pity in destroying settlements. Fifty years ago, these people came to Delhi from Tamil Nadu and built a life here. BJP ruthlessly bulldozed their homes. Modi ji’s promise of ‘jahan jhuggi wahan makan’ has proved to be hollow like many others,” he said.
A government notice dated May 30 informed the residents that trucks would be available between May 31 and June 1 at the Barapullah Bridge to assist with relocation.
AAP has promised to continue raising the issue both in public forums and in Parliament, accusing the BJP of acting against the interests of the poor.(PTI)
