New Delhi, June 29 (IANS) The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Sunday over the demolition of slum dwellings has triggered a sharp political backlash, with senior BJP leaders accusing the party of promoting “anarchist” and “anti-national” sentiments.

During the protest, Delhi Minister Gopal Rai issued a fiery ultimatum to the Centre, saying, “If you bulldoze homes without rehabilitation, use all your police and political power, we’ll enter the PM’s house and take control!”

The statement has drawn severe criticism from the BJP, which termed it as a reflection of AAP’s “real mindset.”

BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari told IANS that such remarks reveal the “anti-national thinking” of the AAP leadership.

“Delhi’s common citizens stand firmly with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP’s Rekha Gupta. But Gopal Rai’s comment about taking over the PM’s house clearly shows the anarchist mentality of Arvind Kejriwal and AAP,” he said.

Another, BJP national spokesperson Nalin Kohli, also launched a scathing attack on AAP, recalling Kejriwal’s earlier protest at Rajpath.

“Kejriwal himself had once declared, ‘I am an anarchist.’ Today, Gopal Rai is merely echoing that same anarchist mindset,” Kohli stated. He said AAP’s repeated claims of standing with the poor are a facade, and their true character lies in promoting lawlessness.

Earlier, Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva also attacked the former Chief Minister Kejriwal and called his protest at the Jantar Mantar a “total flop”.

The Delhi BJP chief also pointed out that about five months ago, after losing the elections, AAP leaders Kejriwal, Gopal Rai, and others, in the name of slum dwellers, incited their workers to storm the Prime Minister’s residence.

At that time, ordinary slum residents in Delhi were asking Kejriwal: “You’ve built a ‘Sheeshmahal’ for yourself in 10 years — why haven’t you allocated flats to the poor in buildings in places like Narela or Bawana?” he said.

–IANS

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