The Aam Aadmi Party held a massive demonstration at Jantar Mantar on June 29, drawing thousands of slum residents, activists, and party leaders to protest the BJP-led government’s aggressive demolition drives targeting informal settlements across Delhi.
(AAP) Members of the Purvanchal community living in Delhi held a strong protest against a controversial statement made by BJP minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa.
The controversial statement made by BJP minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa that sparked outrage was:
“The people whose slums are being demolished under the bulldozer action are Bangladeshis and Rohingyas.”
AAP claims that Sirsa allegedly insulted people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar living in Delhi by calling them Bangladeshis and Rohingyas. In response, AAP leaders and workers staged a protest outside his residence.
In fact, BJP minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa recently stated that the people whose slums are being demolished under the bulldozer action are Bangladeshis and Rohingyas. AAP and the Purvanchal community have condemned this statement, calling it not only baseless but also deeply insulting.
“Stop Bulldozer Raj” & “Jahan Jhuggi, Wahan Maidan”
AAP leaders adopted these slogans to voice strong criticism of Prime Minister Modi’s and central government’s ‘Jahan Jhuggi, Wahan Makaan’ initiative, alleging it has morphed into destructive bulldozer politics—leaving slum dwellers homeless. Saurabh Bharadwaj of AAP remarked: “They’re turning it into ‘Jahan Jhuggi Wahin Maidan’ by destroying homes and rendering the poor homeless.”
AAP national convener and former Delhi CM—delivered a fiery speech. He accused the BJP of betraying the poor, reversing the city’s progress, imposing school fee hikes and power cuts, and using bulldozers within just five months of taking power.
He warned that if the estimated 4 million slum dwellers join forces and take to the streets, the demolition campaign could be halted. Kejriwal declared:
“Where there was a jhuggi, there should have been a makaan—but what we see is a maidan.”
Residents of slum clusters such as Ghasipur, Sarai Kale Khan, and Jahangirpuri shared distressing anecdotes:
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“We are always afraid our homes will be demolished. We can’t eat or sleep in peace.”
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Activists and unions argued that not a single evicted family has been rehabilitated since the pandemic, and that enforcement agencies like DDA and DUSIB are pushing slum dwellers into limbo.
Organisations like the Mazdoor Awas Sangharsh Samiti and trade unions demanded a zero-eviction policy without proper rehabilitation, and called for legal action against erring officials, highlighting procedural lapses in the “bulldozer raj” approach.
