BJP wants to banish poor, not poverty: Cong

Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav on Monday criticised the BJP-led Delhi Government for the demolition of slum settlements, alleging that the party is not fighting poverty but seeking to evict the poor from the national capital.

Yadav, accompanied by senior party leaders, visited the Bhoomiheen JJ Cluster in Kalkaji’s Govindpuri, where around 350 homes were razed recently by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). He said the demolition was carried out despite residents possessing valid documents, calling it “inhuman and politically motivated”.

“The BJP wants to banish the poor, not poverty,” Yadav said. “Just like the Congress government brought in an ordinance in 2011 to prevent mass displacement, the BJP must now do the same to protect these vulnerable families,” he added.

The Congress leader accused the BJP of using the pretext of court orders to push demolitions, even though Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has assured that no JJ cluster would be removed without first providing alternative housing. Yadav claimed that due to “rampant corruption and negligence”, many long-time slum residents were excluded from rehabilitation surveys, rendering them ineligible for flats despite living there for decades.

“The poor from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and other states who helped build this city are being treated as outsiders today. This is not just unjust — it is cruel,” Yadav said.

Yadav demanded that all displaced residents of the Bhoomiheen camp be relocated within a 5-km radius to safeguard their livelihoods and children’s education. He also urged the government to extend the 2015 cut-off date for JJ cluster eligibility to 2027 to account for changing circumstances and ensure inclusive rehabilitation.

Former Delhi Congress president Subhash Chopra, who was also present during the visit, pointed out that many of the in-situ flats currently being handed over were actually constructed during the Congress-led UPA regime. He accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of taking credit for these Congress-era projects, terming it an “election stunt”.

Chopra said while 3,024 flats were built in Kalkaji, only 1,862 had been allotted so far, even though over 1,300 homes were demolished in the Bhoomiheen camp alone. “Of the 8,004 flats originally planned, several remain incomplete due to delays and official apathy,” he said.

Delhi