Arvind Kejriwal dares Union home minister Amit Shah to withdraw cases filed on slum demolitions

New Delhi: In an attempt to woo slum voters who have a significant influence on 20 Assembly seats in Delhi, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday challenged Union home minister Amit Shah, saying he will not contest the upcoming elections if the Central government withdraws all cases related to slum demolitions. They care only about their friends and political ambitions.” Dismissing Mr Kejriwal’s allegations as baseless, Union minister Hardeep Puri claimed that the AAP government in Delhi had deliberately delayed Central government schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and other slum rehabilitation projects. The minister accused Mr Kejriwal of using misleading claims to divert attention from the AAP’s own governance failures, saying, “In 2017, I sent a letter urging the Delhi government to implement slum rehabilitation projects. we will fight the elections, win and stand for the slum people like a pillar and will not let you demolish their houses.” Mr Kejriwal also claimed that the BJP had constructed only 4,000 houses for slum residents under the Jahan Jhuggi Wahan Makan scheme, while there are 4 lakh slums in Delhi, suggesting that it will take the saffron party at least a thousand years to provide housing for all these people.