The Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has alleged that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA and chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj has encroached upon a piece of land at a Chirag Delhi village where a 150-year-old tree once stood and used to be a platform for staging of Ramleela and meeting point of village elders. Bhardwaj is illegally constructing party office there and also hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus.

The party general secretary  Dinesh Partap Singh and Delhi BJP Spokesperson Harish Khurana said this is in gross violation of the Delhi High Court orders which had ordered all construction to be stopped there but Saurabh Bhardwaj and local AAP councillor Pooja Jakhar have teamed up and got the office construction work resumed.

“BJP is with people of the locality in this matter and will do whatever is possible to help them. The State Media Co-Head Harihar Raghuvanshi was present alongside them,” he said.

The two leaders said this piece of land is dear to the local villagers whose religious sentiments are attached with this tree which is being cut to make way for the office. It is because of this very reason the villagers are forced to approach the court again to restrain the AAP leaders from going ahead with the construction activity.

Singh and Khurana said a wall has been erected all around this piece of land. In fact, the two leaders asked when Kejriwal will continue to play with religious feelings of the Hindus.

They said if the need be, the BJP which has always stood by Delhiites, will stand by villagers here and will oppose this work of illegal construction and playing with religious sentiments of the Hindus tooth and nail.

They said it shows that there is a vast difference between what the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who calls himself son of the soil, says and does.  In fact, on one hand the Kejriwal government does not get tired of repeatedly saying they are for making Delhi green and on the other, his own party MLA and councillor are indulging in cutting of trees thus destroying the green lungs of the capital.

“While charging AAP with illegally occupying land in the capital, said it is not something new for AAP. In fact, they had tried this earlier as well but on October 23, 2020 the court had ordered stopping of illegal construction here as also its demolition. But the local councillor and MLA conspired to do this,” Khurana said.

“At least eight AAP MLAs have their offices in the premises of Delhi Jal Board which is illegal. He asked the Kejriwal government under which law permission was given to these MLAs for their offices in the board premises. It seems occupying land forcibly has become a daily routine of the AAP MLAs, he said.

The two BJP leaders alleged all this is being done in the name of making chaupals in the villages whereas the fact shows otherwise.