New Delhi: With an eye on Purvanchali votebank in Delhi, the ruling AAP and the Opposition BJP on Friday crossed swords over the honour and welfare of migrants from Bihar and east Uttar Pradesh as both parties claimed to be their true well-wisher.
While the BJP women wing held a protest outside AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal’s house over his “anti-Purvanchali” comments, the former Chief Minister countered by claiming that he had given a dignified life to Purvanchalis by providing civic and health facilities in unauthorised colonies and slums where they live.
The poll-bound city is witnessing a battle over Purvanchalis with BJP protesting against Kejriwal’s comment on Thursday in which he allegedly called people from Purvanchal “fake voters” and the AAP has been accusing the saffron party of indulging in politics.
Kejriwal took to damage control on Friday by blaming the BJP’s central government for not carrying out any development in the unauthorised colonies that are home to the community.
“People from Purvanchal come here and live in slums. Before 2014, it was difficult to live in these slums. It was a life of hell, with mud and sludge everywhere. There was no development. According to the Supreme Court and central government orders, no development could take place there. More than 90 per cent of the people in these slums are from Purvanchal. I want to ask the BJP, what have you done for slums in the last 10 years?” said Kejriwal.
“BJP is just a party for protesting. They only hold dharna and protest and indulge in dirty politics. They can’t work for the people,” he said.
Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva said Kejriwal’s remarks last evening, where he called people from Purvanchal “fake voters,” have once again revealed the dark truth of his mindset.
Kejriwal seems to have lost his mental balance out of fear of losing power, he said, slamming the former CM for insulting Purvanchali voters.
The significance of Purvanchali voters living mostly in unauthorised colonies in Delhi can be gauged from the fact that even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had referred to their issues during his recent election rally.
PM Modi had said that while the Central government was holding camps to give ownership rights to residents of unauthorised colonies, the AAP had failed to provide even basic services like roads and water in these areas.
About 42 per cent Delhi’s 1.55 crore voters are Purvanchalis or migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and their votes influence the result in almost half of the city’s 70 Assembly constituencies. Key seats with Purvanchali voters include Burari, Laxmi Nagar, Dwarka, etc.
Apart from declaring Chhath, a ritual observed by Purvanchalis, as a holiday in Delhi, the AAP government has been making special arrangements for the religious event by building special ghats near the Yamuna and providing artificial water ponds in colonies.
The BJP has also been actively engaging with the community through its Purvanchal Morcha. North East Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari, a singer and actor from Purvanchal, has been projected by the party as its tallest leader from the region.
The Assembly elections in Delhi are scheduled to be held on February 5 and the result will be announced on February 8.
In the outgoing Assembly, the AAP has 62 MLAs and the BJP has eight.
(IANS)
