Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena accused former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal of lying to the residents of the slums of Shakur Basti and of misleading them. He was referring to Kejriwal’s statement that the BJP wants the slums to be demolished. Saxena said that the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has no such plans and warned Kejriwal of action against him.
"Today Arvind Kejriwal went near the slums of Shakur Basti. The statement he gave there regarding the Shakur Basti is a complete lie. Citing the DDA meeting of December 27, he said that LG has changed the ‘land use’ of Shakur Basti. DDA has neither changed the land use of this colony nor has DDA given any eviction or demolition notice. Kejriwal is deliberately telling a blatant lie and misleading the people…,” he said.
Kejriwal, while visiting the Shakur Basti slum in North West Delhi district, accused the BJP of prioritising land acquisition over the welfare of slum dwellers. "They want your votes first and your land after the elections," he said.
In his response, Saxena said that on December 27, the DDA held a discussion for the change of land use but it was for another area which had no slums. He added that, even after the meeting there was no decision made on the change of land use of that area.
“Two of Kejriwal's MLAs were present in the DDA meeting on 27 December: Somnath Bharti and Dilip Pandey. If Kejriwal had talked to them, then perhaps he would not have lied. My advice to him is that he should stop lying on this subject with immediate effect. Otherwise, DDA will take action against them…” said Saxena.
He said that if Kejriwal visited the slum area then he must have seen the miserable condition the people are living in there. “Who is responsible for their miserable condition? Sanitation, water supply, health services, MCD everything comes under Kejriwal,” he said, drawing comparison with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 'Jaha Jhuggi Wahan Makan' Yojana to give model flats to thousands of slum dwellers.