AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal today said that he will not contest the upcoming Assembly elections in Delhi if Home Minister Amit Shah withdraws all cases related to Delhi slum demolitions and rehabilitates every evicted person.

“Withdraw all the cases you have filed against the people of slums, and submit an affidavit in court that you will give houses to all those people on the same land from which they were evicted. I will not contest the elections. I challenge you to accept it. Otherwise, Kejriwal will not go anywhere,” the former Delhi chief minister said today. 

Mr Kejriwal today alleged that the BJP intends to demolish slums in Delhi if it wins the elections. Responding to his allegations, Union Minister and BJP leader Hardeep Singh Puri dismissed the claims and accused the AAP government of non-cooperation. 

“They want your votes first and your land after the elections,” Mr Kejriwal said at Shakur Basti, describing the BJP’s ‘Jahan Jhuggi Wahan Makaan’ scheme as a “complete eyewash.”

Mr Kejriwal claimed that only 4,700 flats for slum dwellers had been constructed by the BJP-led central government in the past five years, leaving the city’s 4 lakh slum households in the lurch. “At this pace, it will take 1,000 years to provide housing for all,” he claimed.

The former Delhi Chief Minister claimed the Delhi Lt Governor had changed the land use of slum areas on December 27, paving the way for their demolition immediately after the elections. He alleged that the Railways had already tendered land occupied by slums on September 30.

Union Minister Puri dismissed Mr Kejriwal’s allegations as baseless and countered with accusations of his own. He claimed that the AAP government in Delhi had deliberately delayed central government schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) and other slum rehabilitation projects. “Since 2006, it has been the state government’s duty to regulate unauthorised colonies, but the AAP government did not cooperate,” Mr Puri said.

Mr Puri accused Mr Kejriwal of using misleading claims to divert attention from AAP’s own governance failures. “In 2017, I sent a letter urging the Delhi government to implement slum rehabilitation projects. Instead, they insisted on conducting a survey first,” he said. Mr Puri further claimed that senior AAP leaders had shown interest in land acquisition without supporting housing projects for slum dwellers.

“A Central Vigilance report revealed that toilets were being counted as classrooms under AAP’s education initiatives,” Mr Puri alleged. He claimed that while AAP promised to build 20,000 classrooms, only 4,260 were constructed, with funds allegedly misused. Mr Puri also alleged a shortage of 6,000 teachers, which he said contradicted the government’s promise of world-class education.

The AAP is aiming to secure a third consecutive term in Delhi. The party, which won 62 of 70 seats in 2020, is seeking to consolidate its voter base among marginalised communities, including slum dwellers.

During his address today, Mr Kejriwal reiterated his 2015 intervention to prevent slum demolitions. Accompanied by Satyendar Jain, AAP’s candidate from Shakur Basti, Mr Kejriwal appealed to voters to reject BJP’s alleged “traitorous” policies.

Hitting out at Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin for his “childish” jab amid the National Anthem row, Governor RN Ravi has said “such arrogance is not good” and warned that the country would not tolerate such “brazen insult” of the anthem and the Constitution.

The DMK government in Tamil Nadu and the Raj Bhavan have been trading barbs after the Governor walked out of the Assembly on January 6 in protest of the National Anthem not being sung at the beginning of his address.

As per the tradition in Tamli Nadu Assembly, state anthem Tamil Thai Valthu is sung when the House meets and the National Anthem at the end. But, Governor Ravi has taken exception to this norm and said the national anthem should be sung at both times.

Thiru @mkstalin asserts that insisting on due respect to the National Anthem and doing fundamental duties enshrined in the Constitution is “absurd” and “childish”. Thanks for betraying the true intentions of the coalition of interests and ideologies to which he is a leader that…

— RAJ BHAVAN, TAMIL NADU (@rajbhavan_tn) January 12, 2025

“The Constitution of Bharat and the National Anthem were once again insulted in the Tamil Nadu Assembly today. Respecting the National Anthem is among the first Fundamental Duty as enshrined in our Constitution. It is sung in all the state legislatures at the beginning and the end of Governor’s address,” the Raj Bhavan said in a statement after the Governor’s walkout. “Today on arrival of Governor to the House only Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu was sung. Governor respectfully reminded the House of its Constitutional Duty and fervently appealed to the Hon’ble Chief Minister who is the Leader of the House and the Hon’ble Speaker for singing the National Anthem. However, they cussedly refused. It is a matter of grave concern. Not to be a party to such brazen disrespect to the Constitution and the National Anthem, Governor in deep anguish left the House,” the Raj Bhavan said.

Soon after, Chief Minister MK Stalin said in a post on X that the Governor had made it a custom to violate the Assembly’s tradition and called his actions “childish”. “According to the Constitution, it is a tradition of legislative democracy for the state governor to read the government’s address at the beginning of the year! He has made it his custom to violate it. It is childish that the governor, who has cut out what was there and added what was not, has gone without reading it this time,” he said, referring to passages skipped by the Governor in his earlier speeches in the Assembly.

Doubling down, the DMK chief yesterday told the House, “The Governor comes to the Assembly but returns without addressing the House. That’s why I had said his actions were childish.

“I think the Governor is unable to digest the fact that Tamil Nadu is developing. I may be an ordinary person but this Legislative Assembly came into existence due to the feelings of crore of people,” Mr Stalin said, adding that the Assembly “should not see such things again”.

Hitting back, the Raj Bhavan’s official handle posted on X today, “Thiru @mkstalin asserts that insisting on due respect to the National Anthem and doing fundamental duties enshrined in the Constitution is “absurd” and “childish”. Thanks for betraying the true intentions of the coalition of interests and ideologies to which he is a leader that does not accept and respect Bharat as a nation and Her Constitution.”

“Such arrogance is not good. Please do not forget that Bharat is the supreme Mother and the Constitution the supreme faith for her children. They will not like or tolerate such brazen insult,” it added.

Governor Ravi and the MK Stalin government have shared frosty ties ever since he took over in 2021. The DMK government has accused him of acting like a BJP spokesperson and blocking Bills and appointments. The Governor has said the Constitution empowers him to withhold his assent to legislation. The dispute between the Raj Bhavan and state government has also reached the Supreme Court and the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Mohammad Salim acknowledges the impact of a triangular contest in the Delhi elections, with minority votes potentially divided between AAP and Congress. While AAP’s focus on freebies and anti-BJP stance makes it favorably viewed by Muslim voters, issues like poor sanitation and public services still sway opinions. The consolidation of Muslim votes remains crucial for a decisive outcome.