Congress slams BJP, AAP over JJ cluster demolitions

Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Devender Yadav on Monday launched a scathing attack on the BJP and AAP, accusing both parties of betraying the urban poor by demolishing slum clusters without ensuring proper resettlement.

Announcing a 15-day campaign across the Capital’s 675 JJ (Jhuggi-Jhopri) clusters, Yadav said the Delhi Congress would act as the “voice of the poor” from the streets to Parliament.

Speaking at a press conference in the Capital, Yadav asserted that only the Congress stood by the residents when bulldozers razed over 3,000 slum dwellings, displacing 15,000 people under the sweltering heat. He said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and senior party members had reached out to the affected residents in JJ cluster camps like Madrasi Camp (Jangpura), Bhoomiheen Camp (Kalkaji), and Jailorwala Bagh, unlike the BJP and AAP, who he alleged “disappeared” after seeking votes from the poor.

“The BJP’s real slogan is not Garibi Hatao, but Garib Hatao,” Yadav said, accusing both the BJP and AAP of being complicit in anti-poor policies.

He further said while the Congress government had constructed over 52,000 flats under the JNNURM, of which 3,500 homes were already allotted, the AAP government failed to distribute even one of the remaining 48,000 flats in the last 11 years.

Yadav also highlighted the Congress legacy of building 45 resettlement colonies and launching in-situ construction at three major JJ clusters where the DDA had constructed thousands of flats. In contrast, he said, BJP’s Central Government and AAP’s state government failed to carry forward these initiatives, only demolishing jhuggis without providing alternative housing.

Former DPCC president and senior Congress leader Subhash Chopra backed Yadav’s remarks, saying the BJP’s “real face” had been exposed. He said despite the party’s symbolic visits to slums during elections, it demolished 370 jhuggis at Madrasi camp and 350 at Bhoomiheen camp earlier this year. He recalled his efforts with then Union Urban Development Minister Ajay Maken, who had pushed through sanctions from 18 departments over four years to construct 3,000 flats in Kalkaji, with a project cost of Rs 240 crore.

Yadav concluded by demanding that the BJP government immediately allot the 48,000 unassigned flats built by the Congress to the slum dwellers and ensure their resettlement. He questioned the Delhi Government’s recent announcement of Rs 700 crore for slum development, asking, “Where will the money go when the slums are being erased?”

As part of the 15-day campaign, Congress teams will mobilise across JJ clusters to connect with residents, highlight their struggles, and push for legal and policy-level interventions.

Yadav promised that the Congress would continue to champion the cause of the poor and ensure they are not driven out of the Capital.