Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of planning to demolish slums in Delhi within the next five years, leaving residents homeless. Speaking at a slum camp on Sunday, Kejriwal criticized the BJP for what he termed their insincerity towards slum dwellers.
Kejriwal accused BJP leaders of pretending to care for slum residents by visiting their settlements ahead of elections. “For the last month, BJP leaders have been staying in slums. This is not out of affection but for votes. The BJP is a party of rich people; they don’t care about slum dwellers. They see them as votes before polling and their land after polling,” Kejriwal alleged.
Responding to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent promise of “Jahan jhuggi, wahan makaan” (Where there is a slum, there will be a house), Kejriwal said the BJP’s claim is misleading. “What they mean is ‘Jahan jhuggi, wahan unke dost ka makaan’ (Where there is a slum, there will be houses for their friends),” he said, suggesting the BJP plans to hand over the land to private developers.
Kejriwal also criticized the BJP’s track record on housing for slum dwellers. “Since 2014, they have built only 4,700 houses in Delhi. With nearly 4 lakh slums in the city, at this pace, it would take 1,000 years to house everyone. The BJP’s intent is not to build homes but to displace people.”
The BJP dismissed Kejriwal’s allegations, calling them a diversion from AAP’s governance failures. The party accused AAP of corruption, inefficiency in executing welfare programs, and failing to tackle Delhi’s rising pollution levels. BJP leaders coined the term “AAPda” (disaster) to criticize AAP’s rule in the capital.
In retaliation, AAP labeled the BJP the “Galli Galoch Party” (party of abusive rhetoric), accusing it of employing dishonest tactics and electoral fraud.
The political war of words comes ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections, scheduled for February 5. Nominations for candidates will close on January 17, with scrutiny on January 18 and withdrawals allowed until January 20. Votes will be counted on February 8.
In the 2020 Delhi Assembly elections, AAP won 62 of the 70 seats, leaving the BJP with just eight. The Congress, once a dominant force in Delhi, failed to win any seats in the last two elections, highlighting its declining influence in the capital.
As the election campaign intensifies, housing for slum dwellers is emerging as a contentious issue, with both parties vying for the support of the city’s marginalized communities.
