Delhi polls: BJP woos JJ colony voters; accuses Cong, AAP of smear campaign

New Delhi, Jan 6: Promising in-situ rehabilitation, access to water, sanitation and PDS facilities, state BJP today sought to woo voters residing in jhuggi-jhopri and slums here, ahead of the Delhi polls, even as it accused the Congress and AAP of indulging in "smear campaign" against it.

In a five-point agenda, BJP Delhi unit chief Satish Upadhayay and senior party leader Vijay Goel outlined the plans, which they said was in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to provide housing to all such dwellers by 2022.

"If voted to power, we promise to build houses for jugghi-jhopri dwellers at the site only. We will not throw out anybody from the houses, but with builders we will rehabilitate them at the site of their bastis only," Upadhyay told reporters at the state party headquarters here.

He said that the party guided by the slogan of 'Bhajpa ka hay ailan, jehan jhuggi wahin makan', will try to provide health, sanitation, education and other facilities on the lines of those made in Mumbai slums.

"We will develop skill-development centres and efforts would also be made to wean youth away from drug addiction, which is prevalent among people living in such areas," he said.

Goyal alleged that Congress and AAP were resorting to smear campaign against BJP about its work in such areas to "give a wrong signal to voters there".

"When we say we will build houses for them then and there, AAP scares away people telling them that BJP is going to dismantle their houses," he alleged. Goyal said that with 642 JJ colonies in the city housing 25-30 lakh people, the BJP also wants to provide them with ration cards to avail the public distribution system, among other facilities.

"We want to provide them with sugar, besides wheat and rice. Also, talks are on with urban development ministry and the DDA to allot unused flats built during the UPA regime.

"About 60,000 flats were to be alloted to people under the JNNURM by the previous government. While 14,000 flats have been built, about 40,000 are under construction. And, we will allot them if we come to power unlike the previous government," Goyal claimed.

The issue of unauthorised colonies is a key poll plank for political parties in the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections. The Union Cabinet had recently approved an ordinance for the regularisation of 895 unauthorised colonies of Delhi, which have come up till June 1 this year.

PTI