People who are affected by the demolition drive at the slums next to a railway line in Shaku Basti area on Sunday night. Kejriwal’s remark came as Rahul Gandhi reportedly questioned why AAP MPs were protesting outside Parliament when it is their government that rules Delhi.
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While speaking to the slum dwellers, Rahul promised them that he would extend every help possible to alleviate them of their problems.
The Trinamool Congress, which has sided with the AAP on select issues, announced its readiness to join an AAP demonstration in parliament complex against the demolition.
The ruling party in Delhi also termed the drive as “sudden” action and said earlier too similar activities were planned by Railways, but could not materialise following “intervention by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the state government”.
NHRC said it had sent the notices after taking suo motu cognisance of media reports regarding the demolition of slum dwellings at two places in the city – Shakurbasti in west Delhi and Belagaon area in old Delhi. The death of an infant at the demolition site had caused huge uproar and invited criticism from all quarters. “But we will try to protect you, we will fight your battle”, the Congress vice-president told the slum dwellers. “The DM comes under us, so we are suspending the DM right away”, he said. “First the hospital refused to admit her and then later they admitted her”, said another resident, Lakhan. The Chief Minister suspended two Sub-Divisional Magistrates and another senior official for “failing to arrange” food and shelter for those evicted.
“In the meeting, Railway officials told the CM said that there is no rehabilitation scheme before demolition”.
More than 500 hutments were demolished by Indian Railways authorities in Shakur Basti in west Delhi on Saturday, leaving hundreds homeless in the winter chill.
The demolition of the shanties in Shakur Basti, their numbers varying from five hundred to over thousand across reports, has led to a lot of political sloganeering. He said the demolition was carried out after sending repeated notices to people at Shakur Basti to vacate the land.
“Those who have done this (demolition of shanties) are not humans, instead they are animals”, Kejriwal said. Official data available with the railway ministry shows that in the last three years, it has been able to retrieve only 112 hectares across the country. The Modi Government and the Delhi Government are involved here and now they are engaged in a blame game.
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The drive, he said, was aimed at “teaching a lesson to Kejriwal”. He ordered officials to immediately provide blankets and food to those who were rendered homeless.
