Eviction notices in Gandhi Nagar slums spark clash between AAP, BJP

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday raised strong objections to what it alleged was a BJP-led move to evict residents living for decades in Delhi’s slum communities ahead of Diwali.

Senior AAP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, along with party MLA and MCD in-charge Durgesh Pathak, visited the Gandhi Nagar slums to meet the residents who have been served eviction notices by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). The DDA comes under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government on India.

Sisodia condemned the move and said “These jhuggis have been home to families for over 90 years, with two generations, even three, living here."

“Children living here approach me and say, ‘Sir, we study in your schools; where will we go if our homes are taken?’ Yet, the BJP has issued notices to these jhuggi dwellers, ordering them to vacate within 15 days,” he added.

Sisodia expressed his frustration at the alleged move, linking it to a pattern of actions aimed at destabilising AAP’s efforts in Delhi. “The BJP has even gone as far as sending Arvind Kejriwal to jail so he cannot stand up for the poor,” he remarked.

“Today, the AAP commits to standing strong, to fighting wholeheartedly for these families, and to ensuring that not a single jhuggi is lost. This is Arvind Kejriwal’s promise,” he concluded.

Union Minister Harsh Malhotra, former minister Arvinder Singh Lovely and MLA Anil Bajpai, in a joint statement in response to AAP’s allegations, said the Delhi Government’s negligence was responsible for the eviction orders issued to the slum residents of Gandhi Nagar. Sisodia’s statement’s were misleading, they said.

The BJP leaders said there was an administrative provision in Delhi state that no notice to vacate slums that were over 20 years old could be issued without prior approval from the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB).

“The Gandhi Nagar slum settlement, whose residents have received eviction notices, is over six decades old. Therefore, it is unlikely that the land-owning agency issued the notice without DUSIB’s approval.” they said.

“If the notice was issued without DUSIB’s consent, it indicates a disconnect between the department and the concerned minister. If the Delhi Government truly wishes to protect these slums, the DUSIB minister should call a meeting, and the BJP will fully support it,” they added.