AAP, BJP spar over unauthorised colonies
NEWDELHI : The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday took out a protest march from the party headquarters to the BJP office, both near ITO, against the saffron party’s “false” promises over regularisation of unauthorised colonies . The BJP countered AAP by announcing it would start a “Dilli Bachao-bhajpa Lao” campaign from Sunday to reach out those living in unauthorised colonies.
AAP Delhi convener Gopal Rai said the Delhi government has been trying for many years to regularise the city’s unauthorised colonies. Over one third of Delhi lives in unauthorised colonies.
“We are celebrating this day (Saturday) as “Dhokha Diwas”. The Delhi government had passed a proposal in this regard in the cabinet and sent it to the Centre, but the central government has been sitting on it for many years,” Rai said. AAP’S party office is around 750 metres from the BJP headquarters.
Rai said despite the Centre not cooperating, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal worked to fix drains, roads, sewers and water pipelines in unauthorised colonies.
Delhi BJP secretary Kuljeet Singh Chahal said the issue had been politicised by AAP. “First the Congress misled the people and now AAP is doing the same thing. However, the central government had started working for regularisation of unauthorised colonies. But the Kejriwal led government never cooperated despite the Centre writing letters seeking demarcation of boundaries of the colonies,” he said.
Later, the Delhi BJP said starting Sunday, it will launch a fresh outreach campaign in these colonies to “make people aware about the lies being spread by the AAP government”. On Sunday, the party will cover eight districts.
AAP chief spokesperson, Saurabh Bhardwaj said Manoj Tiwari asking for six months’ time is a “trick” by BJP. “There is an election in Delhi after four months and BJP, like Congress, will come at the time of election and say elect us this time and we will regularise the colonies. Congress used to do the same thing. Once the election is over, the issue will be put in cold storage for five years again,” he said.