New Delhi, June 3 (IANS) Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva on Tuesday hit out at AAP leader and former minister Manish Sisodia for giving a political colour to the court-ordered demolition of a slum built over a major drain in south Delhi’s Jangpura area.

He said Sisodia, who fled Delhi and settled in Punjab after losing the Assembly election from Jangpura seat following his earlier tenure in Patparganj, has left Delhiites stunned with his statement.

Earlier, Sisodia hit out at the BJP government in Delhi for demolishing the Madrasi Colony slums in Jangpura without giving an alternative to the displaced residents.

The Delhi BJP President stated that due to the Madrasi Camp located on the Barapullah drain, cleaning work of the drain had been halted for nearly a decade, causing waterlogging not just in the nearby areas but in several colonies and roads several km away from the slum.

“For nearly a year, the issue of relocating the Madrasi Camp was known to the then Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi Marlena-led governments, yet the AAP leaders remained silent and made no plans for rehabilitation through DUSIB. Today, they are shedding crocodile tears,” said Sachdeva.

The BJP chief said that while the ruling party remains committed to the declared policy of “Jahan Jhuggi, Wahan Makaan” (where there’s a slum, there should be a home), AAP leaders must explain why their government did not take steps to give the slum dwellers a safe dwelling.

“If people, due to helplessness, had built unsafe jhuggis along or over drains a few years ago, should a sensitive government now provide them with safe and improved housing, or again construct homes over the drains?” asked Sachdeva, dismissing the AAP leaders’ insistence on offering alternative dwellings to the residents of Madrasi Camp at the existing site.

The Delhi BJP President further added that it is unfortunate that whether it is AAP leaders or Congress leaders, neither has ever worked towards improving the lives of slum dwellers.

“Instead, they have used them as vote banks and forced them to live in inhuman conditions,” he said.

–IANS

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