Supreme Court to hear Jahangirpuri demolition case; Union minister says no difference between Congress, Muslim League

The issue of the demolition of allegedly illegal areas of northwest Delhi’s Jahangirpuri, the area which witnessed communal violence on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti, will be heard by the Supreme Court on Thursday, a day after the apex court’s verdict stalled the civic body’s eviction drive.

The eviction by BJP-ruled civic body in AAP’s Delhi with Congress leader senior advocate Kapil Sibal representing in the Supreme Court against the eviction has brought BJP, AAP, Congress into a political quagmire. CPM leader Brinda Karat, on the other hand, was present at Jahangirpuri on Wednesday.

The Delhi BJP hit out at the AAP and said it has become nervous over the demotion drive against “illegal Rohingyas and Bangladeshis” in Jahangirpuri whom it provided “freebies”. AAP leaders Sisodia, Raghav Chadha, and Sanjay Singh attacked the BJP saying razing the residence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the BJP headquarters using bulldozers will free the country from communal violence and riots forever.

As Congress leader Rahul Gandhi called the drive “a demolition of India’s constitutional values’, Union minister Kiren Rijiju said there is no difference between the Congress and the Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen. “I have never seen a Political Party in India which is more Communal than Congress Party. There’s no difference at all between Congress Party & Muslim League or Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen,” Rijiju tweeted.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi alleged on Wednesday night that he was stopped by the police from visiting the riot-hit parts of the Jahangirpuri area. “I’ve said this before, the bulldozer will work on Ansar, Ahmed but not on Arjun, Ajay. That’s the difference. Ansar remains Ansar even if he’s in BJP or AAP… this demolition is vigilante justice… Polls will come and go but what about those who came on roads during Ramzan?” Owaisi said.

The North Delhi Municipal Corporation maintained that the demolition drive is a routine exercise and three encroachment drives were conducted in Jahangirpuri on February 2, 17 and on April 11.