Arvind Kejriwal offers to withdraw from polls if Shah rescinds cases against slum dwellers

New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of planning to demolish slums in Delhi if it comes to power in the upcoming assembly elections.

Speaking at a press conference in Shakur Basti, the former chief minister alleged that the BJP prioritizes land grabbing over the welfare of slum residents.

“They want your votes before elections and your land afterward,” Kejriwal claimed. He further declared that he would refrain from contesting the elections if Union Home Minister Amit Shah withdraws all cases filed against slum dwellers or those displaced from their homes.

“If the BJP fails to act, I will contest the elections and stand as a shield for slum dwellers,” he said.

Kejriwal also criticized the BJP’s ‘Jahan Jhuggi Wahan Makaan’ scheme, describing it as a “gimmick.”

He claimed that the BJP had constructed only 4,700 flats for slum dwellers over the past decade, while the city has around 4 lakh slums. “At this pace, it will take them 1,000 years to provide housing for all slum dwellers in Delhi,” he said.