Just a day after taking oath as the Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal woke up to several demonstrations in front of his Kaushambi house. First, a group of people staged dharna against the demolition of few jhuggis in Shahdara, then around 50 people — family members of the deceased employees of BSES (Bombay Suburban Electric Supply) and DESU (Delhi Electric Supply Undertaking) — also turned up at his residence seeking Government jobs.
Eight jhuggis on Saturday were demolished at Chhota Nagar near Ghuggi Pahalwan area in Shahdara exactly at the time when Kejriwal was taking oath at Ramlila Maidan as the new Chief Minister of Delhi.
“Just see the brutality of the officers. They not only smashed up our household things and abused us, but also women constables manhandled us and did not even spare our small children,” alleged Vijaywati (30) who was protesting along with 40 others in front of the CM’s residence on Sunday morning.
AAP leaders Ashish Khetan, Rakhi Birla and Deputy CM Manish Sisodia also visited Kejriwal’s residence on Sunday. local police, however, said that these people were trying to build jhuggis on Government land and they just followed protocol.“In fact, police never demolishes any construction on its own. It is the job of land owning agency. Our role is limited to providing security during any such drive to maintain law and order,” said a senior police official.
Several dwellers were allegedly left injured during the incident. The protesters also hit out at local AAP MlA Ram Niwas Goel. “A day before the drive, a few policemen came to meet Goel. We were sure that he would pitch in our favour. But next day, our jhuggis were demolished,” said an anguished person.
According to sources, the Chief Minister was also informed about the incident by party volunteers who took up the matter with the local MlA and asked him to look into it. The protest was then called off.
Goel said, “These jhuggis came up just a day before the polls. The local people complained to me as well as the police about the issue on February 13. The police went there, including the ACP and SHO, and I intervened to stop the demolition.”
He added, “Even when police picked them up on Saturday, I ensured their release and asked them to meet at 4 pm. They did not turn up and instead protested outside Kejriwal’s house on Sunday.”In his prepoll rallies, Kejriwal promised not to erase every jhuggi across the city, and to provide them with in-situ rehabilitation within five years.
“AAP has always been against the demolition of jhuggis. What occurred on Saturday happened before the Delhi Cabinet was sworn in and therefore, the Government could not do much,” said a party leader.
Moreover, relatives of BSES and DESU employees who died between the years 2003 and 2015 also showed up at the CM’s residence demanding Government jobs. “As per rule, if a power official dies in harness, a family member is given a Government job. This is just a symbolic protest. We have decided to launch a massive protest in the coming days,” said a protester.