NEW DELHI, November 17, 2022: Congress spokesperson and ex-MLA Alka Lamba said that despite ruling the MCD for 15 years, BJP does not have any achievement to show, or any issue to project, and its manifesto for the MCD election, “Vachan Patra”, was a betrayal document on the people of Delhi. She said that BJP had failed to implement any of its promises in the past, as it has a track record of betraying the people. She appealed to the slum dwellers not to fill up the forms given by the BJP promising them flats, as it will rob them of their just rights for free accommodation in lieu of their slums. She said that the BJP, in collusion with the Aam Aadmi Party, had made a scheme to rent out the 46,000 flats, construction of which was started by the Congress Government under the Rajiv Rattan Yojna for slum dwellers, including the poor and the Dalits, though these flats were to be allotted free. She said that the plan to rent out these flats was a clear indication of the anti-poor, anti-Dalit attitude of both AAP and BJP, but Congress will not allow the slum dwellers to be cheated. She said that Congress will fight for the cause of the slum dwellers and fulfil its promise of free in-situ flats for them.
Alka Lamba appealed to the BJP and AAP Governemnts to immediately allot nearly 60,000 flats already constructed, to the poor and Dalits. She said that on November 10, 2022 Prime Minister Narendra Modi handed over keys of only 3024 in-situ flats to 285 families in Kalkaji, and the fate of the remaining flats still hangs in balance. She said that the Congress Government started construction of 8000 in-situ flats on September 18, 2013 for Dalits and poor, but even after eight years, a major part of the project is still a work in progress!
Alka Lamba said that the BJP has made many hollow promises in its manifesto, which do not come under the purview of the Municipal Corporation, to mislead Delhiites. She said that nearly 20 lakh people live in 3,32,022 slums across the Capital, but the BJP and AAP Government did not provide them even basic civic amenities. She said that the Congress Government had received 2.75 lakh applications from the poor and Dalits for flats, but the Kejriwal Government could not construct a single flat in the past 8 years.
Alka Lamba assured the people of Delhi that when Congress comes to power in the MCD, it will protect the rights of the people, and ensure that all promises are implemented. She said that during the Covid-19 pandemic, slum dwellers battled an existential crisis, as many of them lost their jobs and roofs over their heads, as the BJP and AAP did not allot them the flats constructed for them. She said that the BJP had done no work to provide flats to slum dwellers, and wondered what was the basis of its promise of flats to the slum dwellers now?
Alka Lamba said that Delhi and the Country were passing through challenging times, as the BJP and AAP have destroyed the peace and amity of the people. She promised that when Congress comes to power in the MCD, it will make Delhi green, clean, progressive and developed once again. She said that it was the Congress Government which changed the face of Delhi to make it a world class city, and Congress will ensure good governance yet again when voted to power in the MCD.
