BJP woos 40 lakh voters in illegal colonies

Sounding the bugle for the forthcoming elections to the Delhi assembly, the BJP criticises the Sheila Dikshit-led Congress government on the issue of regularisation of unauthorised colonies, reports Nivedita Khandekar.

Sounding the bugle for the forthcoming elections to the Delhi assembly, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday criticised the Sheila Dikshit-led Congress government on the issue of regularisation of unauthorised colonies.

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Delhi BJP leader and former Union Minister Vijay Goel organised a rally at the Ramlila Maidan. The famous rally ground wore a hue of saffron as scores of people gathered under a pandal in the simmering heat, hearing leader after leader including LK Advani and party president Rajnath Singh.

Cricketer turned politician Navjot Singh Siddhu enthralled the audience by reciting Hindi poetry in his trademark style.

At the rally, the party also appealed to people to ask their children to vote for the ABVP at the Delhi University polls.

Earlier, Goel started with a list failures of the Congress government before taking up the issue of unauthorised colonies.

“There are 1,600 unauthorised slums housing as many as 40lakh people in the capital. This government has promised multi-storied flats for them. Tell me for a nine-storey building having one-room flats, is she (Dikshit) going to provide a lift?” Goel asked. He went on to criticise Dikshit for promises she cannot fulfill.

Recalling a slogan ‘Har haath ko kaam kar khet ko paani’ (work for every hand and water for every field), Advani said, “In so many years of Congress rule, there is only small-time employment to a few people, but no roof on their heads. This leads to unauthorised slums.”

“After half-a-century of independence if things are not taken care of, it is because we had our government but not good government,” he said.

Rajnath Singh said the Congress leadership was making false promises by doling out “chits of paper” and telling people “this is temporary registration for your slum. Once elected, we (Congress) will permanently regularise it”. “But like earlier promises, this too will remain unfulfilled,” Singh added.

Dr Harshvarshan pointed out the NDA government had regularised all slums in February 2004 itself but the Congress did not implement it.