Amit Shah vows to continue all welfare schemes in Delhi

Addressing a “Slum Basti Pradhan Conference” at the JLN Stadium, Shah warned the public not to fall for “Kejriwal’s tricks”. Around 1,000 slum cluster leaders from across the city, besides residents, attended the event

Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will continue welfare schemes “when it comes to power in Delhi” and urged people to vote out the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the upcoming state assembly elections on February 5.

Union home minister Amit Shah speaks to voters at the JLN Stadium. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

Addressing a “Slum Basti Pradhan Conference” at the JLN Stadium, Shah warned the public not to fall for “Kejriwal’s tricks”. Around 1,000 slum cluster leaders from across the city, besides residents, attended the event.

“Arvind Kejriwal has told slum dwellers that their homes will be demolished (when BJP comes to power in Delhi), but we (BJP) are the ones who care about the poor…today, the time has come to respond to Arvind Kejriwal, who has instilled fear among slum residents. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has guaranteed that if the BJP comes to power, no welfare scheme will be stopped in any way,” Shah said.

“It’s not too late; just remove Kejriwal’s government and Modi’s government will provide permanent houses for all the slum dwellers,” he said.

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal hit back at Amit Shah. “Today, Amit Shah ji abused me and the people of Delhi a lot. The people of Delhi will answer this in the elections. Amit ji told a lot of lies to the slum dwellers. Tomorrow morning, I will hold a press conference from a slum which they have planned to demolish after the elections. I will expose the dirty intentions of BJP with full evidence,” Kejriwal said in a post on social media.

In his speech, Shah attacked Kejriwal on an array of issues, such as the AAP government’s performance, allegations of corruption against AAP leaders and renovations at the “Sheesh Mahal”.

“Today, Kejriwal is so entangled in the vote bank that he has even announced the BJP’s CM candidate. Will Kejriwal declare BJP’s chief minister? The people of Delhi, including slum dwellers, are no longer falling for his tricks, and this time, the people will not tolerate ‘aapada’ and will throw it out of power,” Shah said.

Shah said the Delhi BJP has engaged with slum dwellers for the past 26 weeks, listening to their woes, “anger” over unfulfilled promises, and their concerns. “When our manifesto comes, it will address every pain you face. The BJP’s manifesto is not like that of the AAP, where they take votes and return after five years with new false promises. The BJP’s manifesto is Modi’s guarantee, and it will be fulfilled on the ground,” said Shah, urging them to vote for the BJP in the assembly polls.

Amit Shah reiterated the “aapada” terminology used by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally last Sunday to target the AAP.

“By using a saintly figure like Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal organised anti-corruption movement and came to power, but broke all records of corruption in government. The AAP has become an ‘AAPda’ for Delhi, but Arvind Kejriwal has turned into an ’aapada’ for the AAP itself. Wherever Kejriwal and Sisodia go, the people of Delhi see bottles of alcohol. February 5 is the day of liberation from dirty water in slums, corruption, insensitivity, and an untruthful government. On February 5, the heads of the slums have resolved to create a corruption-free Delhi, as this is the only option for the welfare of Delhi,” Shah said.

Slamming AAP over poor civic amenities, he said: “Dirty water comes out when taps are opened, foul smell comes when window is opened, stepping outside means walking on broken roads…they have turned Delhi into hell by piling garbage onto streets and riverbanks. People of Punjab come to Delhi and say people should not trust Kejriwal as he will cheat them too.”

Over the past few months, the BJP has been reaching out slum dwellers across the city through visits and overnight stays, aiming to woo a voter base that has long been an AAP voter base. According to estimates, there are around three million people in Delhi’s 750 slums, with half of them registered voters — a tenth of the city’s total voter base of around 15 million.

These assembly constituencies are mainly Narela, Adarsh Nagar, Wazirpur, Model Town, Rajendra Nagar, Sangam Vihar, Badarpur, Tughlakabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Seemapuri, Babarppur, Trilokpuri, Kondli, Okhla, Moti Nagar, Madipur, Shalimar Bagh, Matiala and Kirari.

Noor (goes by a single name), a voter from INA Market Jhuggi who attended the rally, said he came to listen to Amit Shah’s speech after being informed about it by BJP workers in the area. “The problems of water supply, jobs, inflation, waterlogging and other issues continue to be there for the past many years. The leaders visit jhuggis during elections but nothing changes,” said Noor.

Shah also asked Kejriwal to list his accomplishments over the past 10 years. “If (AAP govt) is unable to do development work, they should quit. The BJP will do everything and show what true governance looks like,” he said, adding that the Centre spent ₹68,000 crore on developmental works in Delhi.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a guarantee that the central government will provide a pucca house to every slum dweller. The Modi government provides 5kg free foodgrains to 80 crore (800 million) poor people, houses for 3.5 crore (35 million) poor families, gas cylinders for more than 10 crore (100 million) poor, electricity to 2.62 lakh (262,000) homes in 6 lakh (600,000) villages, and constructed toilets in 12 lakh (120,000) homes. Arvind Kejriwal built an a toilet in his Sheesh Mahal which is more expensive than a poor man’s slum house…I want to tell Kejriwal, how long will you run from the rays of the sun ? Today, the slum dwellers of Delhi are shouting ‘Modi-Modi-Modi’,” Shah said.