AAP senior leader and MLA Shri Durgesh Pathak said that the BJP’s DDA has again sent a notice to demolish the slums of Delhi. People have been living in Shri Ram Basti of Adarsh Nagar for 20-25 years. Despite having all the necessary documents, DDA has sent a notice to demolish the colony. A few days ago, another colony of Adarsh Nagar was destroyed, where people were living for the last 60 years.
Rajendra Nagar MLA Shri Durgesh Pathak said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making the poor homeless despite promising houses where there are slums. I assure the people of Shri Ram Basti that we will not allow your houses to be demolished.
Shri Durgesh Pathak took potshots at the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for making false promises to the poor people. He stated, “If you listen to the speeches of the PM Shri Narendra Modi from 2014 and 2020, or any of his recent speeches, you will find him claiming that he is with the poor people. He claims that he is there for the poor people and even promises that he will make houses for the poor people in place of shanty under their scheme ‘Jahaan Jhuggi, Wahin Makaan’. But his actions are headed in the opposite direction; it seems he has some animosity against Delhiites and the poor people.”
The MLA added how the AAP and its leaders have been making significant efforts since the past few months to raise the awareness about the demolition of these slum clusters and the uprooting of the weaker sections of the society by the DDA. Today, we are here to talk about the recent notice of the DDA against the Shri Ram Basti of Adarsh Nagar constituency. “There are hundreds of dwelling units there, with people living in them for over 20-25 years. They have all the documents with them, but the DDA has still served them the notice that they will start the demolition exercise tomorrow. These slums accommodate all those people who are the backbones of our homes and our societies, and the BJP-led central government is uprooting these people. Instead of fulfilling his promise, the PM is making them homeless,” he said.
One of the residents of the Shri Ram Basti, Smt Kamlesh, also expressed her distraught and requested the government for help. She stated, “We are extremely poor, and we have nowhere to live. We have made these homes with much struggle, and we have to feed our children. This notice has wreaked havoc on us, and we have not eaten food for the last two days. We construct your houses, build roads, run kiosks for you and in return we just request you to let us live.”
“We have all the legal documents, including electricity bills, Aadhar card, and PAN card. We have been receiving help from Ms. Neha (Neha Aggarwal, Municipal Councillor of AAP). We have been living here for the past 20-25 years and have not troubled anyone. We request them not to demolish our slums, we will bless you.”
Shri Durgesh Pathak, in line with this, appealed to the DDA, the PM, and the central government to stop their demolition drive and stop troubling the poor.
Councillor Neha Aggarwal stated how the DDA has issued a notice of demolition against the Shri Ram Basti dwellers and the central government is responsible for it. She elucidated how the CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal has worked tirelessly for development of these people in the last few years. How the CM has made facilities like water and electricity available to these slum dwellers. There are around 250-300 families living there, but they have never gone through this much pain. She added, “This notice has wreaked havoc on them. The DDA has already demolished another slum in our ward, behind the Azadpur police station, which was nearly 60 years old. All the residents of those families were uprooted during chilly winters and are homeless today. They are now living on the roads and the DDA has not rehabilitated them. This is absolute dictatorship by the BJP to inflict miseries on the people of Delhi. I would request all of you to fight against BJP’s dictatorial rule. We stand by the families of Shri Ram Basti and we will not let them demolish your homes.”
Shri Durgesh Pathak said that the AAP will request the DDA and the BJP to stop this demolition drive. He stated, “We will request them to not trouble the poor. You might hate Shri Arvind Kejriwal and the Delhi Government, but you should not snatch away the basic necessities of the poor people if you cannot provide anything.”
He concluded the speech by assuring the Shri Ram Basti dwellers by saying that the AAP will fight for the rights of the slum dwellers. “We will be lying in front of the bulldozers, and they will have to kill us to demolish your homes.”
