Congress delegation reaches Jahangirpuri to meet families hit by demolition drive
New Delhi, April 21: A group of Congress leaders, including general secretary Ajay Maken, reached Delhi's Jahangirpuri on Thursday to meet the families hit by Wednesday's demolition drive in the area.
The delegation will submit a report to the Congress' interim president Sonia Gandhi, informed a member of the 16-member group.
"We have come to Jahangirpuri to meet the victims. Police have been cooperative. We have come here to tell the people that this should not be seen from the prism of religion," Maken said.
A delegation member, Congress leader Imran Pratapgarhi stated that "We will meet the affected families. Later, we will submit a report to Sonia Gandhi."
Former Congress MLA Hari Shankar Gupta, who reached the site before the delegation, informed that permission for meeting the people was sought from the police. "We do not want to disturb the peace here but only meet the affected families," he said.
Condemning the demolition drive carried out by BJP-ruled North Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Gupta remarked, "They (the civic body) did not obey the Supreme Court's orders. They shouldn't have dared to carry on with the demolition drive in contempt of the apex court. In the coming days, this can set a dangerous precedent."
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Congress'16-member group included Delhi Congress chief Anil Chaudhry and AICC in-charge of Delhi Shakti Sinh Gohil among others.
On Wednesday, Ajay Maken apologised for not being able to reach the area while the demolition drive was going on.
"Jahangirpuri demolition without notice/procedure is entirely illegal... Tomorrow morning, along with other senior leaders, I will visit the site. Sorry for not being there today," Maken tweeted on Wednesday.
The visit of the Congress leaders' group comes after Communist Party of India (Marxist) Politburo member Brinda Karat reached the demolition site on Wednesday and called the BJP-ruled civic body's demolition drive unconstitutional.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi also visited Jahangirpuri yesterday and termed it a "targetted drive against a particular community".
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress (TMC) has also decided to send a fact-finding team to Delhi on Friday, as per party sources.
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-PTC News
