AAP, Cong warn mass resistance against 'proposed demolitions' in Delhi's Mehram Nagar

New Delhi, Sep 28 (PTI) Accusing the Delhi government of planning to demolish houses in the 300-year-old Mehram Nagar village near the IGI Airport, opposition parties Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress on Sunday warned the ruling BJP of mass resistance if any action is taken.

There was no immediate response available from the BJP over the allegations.

The AAP, in a statement, said that the party's Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh have joined the "Mehram Nagar Bachao" movement. The AAP leaders alleged that the BJP was targeting the poor through its "bulldozer raj".

Bharadwaj said people from "36 biradaris" and 365 Delhi villages have gathered to oppose the move, recalling that a recent attempt to raze Haryana's Anangpur village was halted after a mahapanchayat.

Singh alleged that the BJP has reneged on its "jahan jhuggi, wahan makaan" promise and instead carried out demolitions at Madrasi Camp, Wazirpur and Vasant Kunj.

He warned residents to remain cautious and accused the government of planning to hand over Mehram Nagar land to corporate houses.

Echoing similar concerns, Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav said his party would not allow "even a single house" to be demolished in the village.

According to an official statement, addressing a mahapanchayat of 36 communities from 360 villages, Yadav said the BJP was "anti-poor and anti-Dalit" and accused it of displacing people to benefit "Adani and Ambani".

Yadav linked the day's protest to the birth anniversary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, saying villagers must resist BJP's "atrocities" as freedom fighters resisted colonial rule. He asserted that the Congress stood firmly with the residents and would extend support across Delhi's urban and rural villages.

Both parties alleged that the BJP government had ignored development in Delhi's villages, and was instead focusing on pro-rich policies. PTI MHS SKY SKY