Aam Aadmi Party workers on Saturday staged a protest outside the Delhi BJP office. This comes just days after the city government directed its Public Works Department to immediately withdraw an order to demolish slums located near Dhaula Kuan. The PWD, had on December 29, issued a notice asking slum dwellers in the Dhaula Kuan area to vacate the land within 15 days.
Asserting that his party won't let anybody's house get demolished, AAP MLA Somnath Bharti questioned, "What is wrong with BJP? Why are they acting against the people of Delhi?" Another MLA Aadil Ahmad said the party's agitation against the demolition order will also be taken to the streets near Parliament. "It was in the BJP's manifesto that all slum dwellers will be given a house at the same place where slums are. But now, they are sending notices to demolish slums," he said.
Delhi government's notice to PWD
The Delhi government, in its notice, directed the PWD to withdraw the demolition order, saying it was 'inhuman' to demolish the slums at the peak of the winter season as no other alternate arrangements were made for the residents. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the PWD portfolio, had tweeted, "PWD officials have been ordered to immediately withdraw the order to demolish slums located near Dhaula Kuan."
"Demolishing the houses of the poor in the cold without providing any alternate housing is not acceptable under any circumstances. The Arvind Kejriwal government will never support a decision to render people homeless," he said.
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