NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister Atishi on Monday criticised the BJP after its leaders stayed overnight in the city’s slum areas as part of their election campaign.
Speaking at a public gathering, Atishi urged voters to focus on long-term welfare rather than short-term promises, emphasizing the AAP government’s ongoing efforts to improve essential services and uplift the underprivileged.
“Don’t vote for them (BJP) because ‘salwar kameez, shawl’ and Rs 500 will not be able to fulfil your needs for five years. Arvind Kejriwal’s work of providing free electricity, free water, good education in government schools, free treatment in mohalla clinics will be able to fulfil your needs for five years,” Atishi told voters.
“Arvind Kejriwal is the only leader who has cared for the people living in slums. Slum dwellers should be careful of BJP leaders because they will break your slums and cut your votes” Atishi added
The party accused BJP of destroying slum settlements and removing slumdwellers’ names from voter lists. BJP’s Delhi unit chief Virendra Sachdeva had led party leaders in staying overnight at 1,194 slum clusters across the capital to engage with residents and understand their issues.
During a media briefing, Delhi chief minister Atishi criticised BJP leaders for their slum visits, claiming their actions of sharing meals and photographing with residents were superficial.
“However, I warn the slumdwellers to be wary of them (BJP leaders) because there are many examples that the slums they visit are demolished, like it happened in Sundar Nagri where they had gone a few months ago,” she said.
She further claimed that BJP representatives visit slum areas and subsequently remove residents’ names from electoral registers, citing Shahdara’s Ambedkar Basti as an example.
With Delhi Assembly elections scheduled for February, BJP has initiated an extensive outreach programme targeting slum areas, which have traditionally supported the ruling AAP.
During his stay at Rajiv Camp in east Delhi’s Krishna Market, Sachdeva stated, “BJP leaders are directly communicating with the slumdwellers to better understand their lives. We have learned about their struggles and the upcoming BJP government will work through DUSIB (Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board) to improve their living conditions.”
(With agecy inputs)
