Former Delhi CM Atishi detained during protest against Kalkaji camp demolition | Watch
PTC Web Desk: Former Delhi Chief Minister and senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi was detained by the police on Tuesday while protesting against a planned demolition operation at the Bhoomiheen Camp in Kalkaji. The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) recently issued eviction notices to residents, branding them as "encroachers" and ordering them to vacate the premises within three days or face enforcement action.
The Bhoomiheen Camp, a settlement housing numerous migrant workers, has already been targeted by demolition drives three times—first in July 2023 and again in May and June this year. Local residents, supported by AAP leaders, had organised a protest against what they described as an unjust eviction effort.
#WATCH | Delhi: Former CM Atishi was detained by Delhi Police as she took part in the anti-demolition protests at Kalkaji's Bhoomihin Camp. pic.twitter.com/pR3LEZut4w — ANI (@ANI) June 10, 2025
Atishi, who joined the demonstrators on the ground, criticised the BJP-led Central Government and alleged that another bulldozer operation was imminent. In a post on social media platform X, she wrote, “Tomorrow, the BJP is going to run bulldozers over the Bhoomiheen Camp. Today, the slum residents there were planning to protest, so the BJP government deployed thousands of police and CRPF personnel.”
Atishi also questioned Delhi’s Chief Minister Rekha Gupta over her earlier assurances. “Rekha Gupta ji: You had said that no slums would be demolished, right? Then why is such a massive police and CRPF force deployed?” she asked.
In response to the growing criticism, Gupta reiterated her position, stating on June 8 that the authorities are bound by court-directed demolition orders. She emphasised that those being displaced have been offered alternative accommodation and that the administration is acting within legal parameters.
The ongoing eviction has intensified tensions between the AAP and BJP, spotlighting the broader issue of slum rehabilitation and migrant housing in the national capital.
- With inputs from agencies
