Demolition of Madrasi Camp in Delhi most inhuman, says Congress

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress criticised the BJP government in Delhi over the demolition of Madrasi Camp in Jangpura. They said "nearly 800 slum homes were demolished just a day after Chief Minister Rekha Gupta publicly assured that no slums would be touched".

Condemning , Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav said in a statement on Monday, 2 June, that this was "shocking and saddening".

Yadav alleged that the Rekha Gupta government adopted a pick-and-choose policy. While allotting alternate housing, it left 155 families without shelter in the extreme weather conditions, he said adding that the BJP was playing “petty politics with the lives of the poor”.

He said the BJP's handling of the eviction was in stark contrast to its manifesto promises, which pledged to uplift JJ cluster residents through schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

, an informal habitation along the bank of the Barapullah Jangpura drain, near Nizamuddin railway station, has 370 slum dwelling units and is predominantly inhabited by persons of Tamil Nadu origin.

The Congress leader said the demolition and the eviction drive was carried out inhumanely, disrupting children's education and livelihoods, even as those allotted flats in distant Narela still lacked basic facilities like electricity and water.

Addressing a press conference, AAP's Delhi state president Saurabh Bharadwaj accused the BJP of "betraying the poor". "Madrasi Camp has existed for 60 years. Before (the Delhi assembly) elections, the BJP leaders played carrom (board) with children and dined in the slums. Today, they have demolished those very homes," Bharadwaj said.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has asked officials to help the residents return to their native districts, if they chose to do so. The Tamil Nadu House in New Delhi was tasked with reaching out to them to ensure they got help without delay, according to a state government statement.