New Delhi: Thousands of Congress workers and people from unauthorized colonies, under the leadership of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Shri Subhash Chopra, held a massive demonstration and gheraoed the office of Union Urban Development Minister Shri Hardeep Puri at Nirman Bhawan on the issue of regularization of unauthorized colonies, and seeking deletion of Section 7A of the Gazette notification, for if Section 7A is applied, then over 40 per cent of unauthorized colonies will be out of the ambit of regularization of unauthorized colonies. The angry Congress workers, despite the warnings by the police, shouted that they were ready to go to jail on the issue. The demonstrators clashed with the police several times as they marched towards Nirman Bhawan.
When the demonstrators blocked traffic and sat on the road, police, after repeated warnings and discussion with top officials, arrested Shri Subhash Chopra, former Delhi Ministers Shri Arvinder Singh Lovely and Shri Parvez Hashmi and chief spokesperson Shri Mukesh Sharma along with thousands of Congress workers, and taken them to the Mandir Marg police station and different other police stations in the Capital.
Besides Shri Subhash Chopra, the demonstrators included former DPCC presidents Shri Jai Prakash Agarwal, Jagdish Tytler, Shri Arvinder Singh Lovely, Shri Kirti Azad and Shri Mukesh Sharma, who shouting slogans, marched towards Nirman Bhawan.
The demonstrators started assembling at the National Museum, on Janpath Road, since 11 a.m. Thousands of Congress workers, along with a large number of people from the unauthorized colonies, participated in the demonstration, shouting slogans such as “Dhara 7A Dikhawa Hai, Janta Se Chhalawa Hai”, “Anadhikrit Kaloniyo Ne Pukara Hai, 7A Dhara Nakara Hai” “Indira Ji Ne Kaloniyo Ko Diya Adhikar, Wahi Chahiye Aaj Adhikar”, “Anadhikrit Kaloniyo Ki Yahi Pukar, Indira Ji Ki Neeti Ho Aadhar”, “Anadhikrit Kaloniyo Ki Adhisuchna, Dhokha Hai-Dhoka Hai”, “Malikana Adhikar Ke Naam Par Jhansa, Band Karo-Band Karo”, Malikana Adhikar Dhakosla Hai, Adhikar Ke Naam Par Khokhla Hai” and “Malikana Adhikar Dhokha Hai, Sarkar Badal Do, Mauka Hai”
Addressing the demonstrators, Shri Subhash Chopra said that the BJP Government at the Centre and the Kejriwal Government in Delhi were hatching a conspiracy to uproot over 40 lakh people living in unauthorized colonies. He said that Union Minister Shri Hardeep Puri has admitted that according to Section 7A in the Gazette Notification, 9 per cent colonies will go out of the purview of regularization. He said that Puri does not under the ground reality as the truth is that over 40 per cent unauthorized colonies will not be regularized if Section 7 is applied. He said that the people of unauthorized colonies are very angry as they are being threatened in the name of giving them ownership rights. He said that the BJP and AAP Governments were trying not to give ownership rights to those living in unauthorized colonies.
Shri Jai Prakash Agarwal, Shri Arvinder Singh Lovely and Shri Kirti Azad, addressing the demonstrators, said that a sword of fear was hanging over the people of unauthorized in the form of Section 7A in the Gazette notification. They said that the BJP and AAP Governments were playing shadow boxing on the issue of regularization of unauthorized colonies. They said that it was a big conspiracy to include Section 7A in the notification to exclude over 40 per cent unauthorized colonies from the ambit of regularisation. They said that the Congress will oppose Section 7A in the notification with all its might, and will not allow 40 lakh people from unauthorized to be uprooted without giving them ownership rights. The Congress leaders, overcome with emotion after witnessing the huge turnout for the demonstration and dharna, said that they will not allow those living in the unauthorized to be forced out without giving them ownership rights of the unauthorized colonies.
Chief spokesperson Shri Mukesh Sharma said that unauthorized colonies were a very important issue for the Congress party and the party will not allow the implementation of Section 7A in the notification to be applied while regularizing unauthorized colonies. He demanded that unauthorised colonies should be regularized without any pre-conditions, as was done by the Government of Smt. Indira Gandhi in 1976-77. He said that Congress will continue with its agitation till Section 7A is removed from the notification. He said that the Congress party will not only intensify its agitation, but will also create “chakka jams” across Delhi. He said that the DDA move to issue slips for Registry for ownership was big crime which was intended to collect bribes from the people.
Among those who were participate in demonstration Ex Minister of Delhi Govt. Dr. Narendra Nath, Kiran Walia, EX MLA S/Shri Hasan Ahmed, Mateen Ahmed, Asif Mohammad Khan, Jai Kishan, Veer Singh Dhingan, Balaram Tanwar, Kunwar Karan Singh, Anil Bhardwaj, Sumesh Shaukeen, Surendra Kumar, Darshna Ramkumar, Charan Singh Kandera, Brahm Pal, Neeraj Basoya, Shivani Chopra, Harcharan Singh Josh, District Presidents Mohd. Usman, Vishnu Swaroop Agarwal, Rajesh Chauhan Hari Kishan Jindal, Kailash Jain, A.R. Joshi, Gurcharan Singh Raju, Inderjit Singh, Amit Malik, Praveen Bhugra, Kamalkant Sharma, MC Rinku, Prem Lata Sangwan, Guddi Devi, former MCs Satbir Singh, Khavinder Singh Captain, Neetu Verma, Amrita Dhawan, Indu Verma Pushpa Singh, Varyam Kaur, Ishrat Jahan Ramesh Pandit, Ramesh Sabharwal, Surender Setia, Ch. Ajit Singh, Chaman Lal Sharma, Kaptan Singh, Satish Khatana, Ali Mehdi, Ritu Singh Chauhan, Ashok Basoya, Abdul Wahid, Naushad, Sidharth Kundu.
