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A day after a demolition drive was carried out in North West Delhi's Jahangirpuri, razing several shops, vending carts, and other alleged illegal structures, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress leaders visited the area on Thursday, 21 April.
Their visits came after a bench of Supreme Court Justices on Thursday confirmed that the status quo order passed by the court on Wednesday would remain in effect while it hears the petitions, two weeks later.
The apex court also issued notice on the pleas against the anti-encroachment demolition drive that was briefly conducted in Delhi's Jahangirpuri the previous day.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Police has installed several CCTV cameras in the area and will also install a temporary monitoring station.
AAP MLA Visits Spot, Faces Tough Questions
A day after the demolition created much hue and cry in Delhi and questions were raised on the absence of the area's AAP MLA as well as Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, the party's Burari MLA Sanjeev Jha visited the spot with a few party leaders.
The visit, which came hours after Congress leader Ajay Maken questioned Kejriwal's absence at the spot, was "not a delegation to do politics," said Jha.
Blaming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the communal violence that broke out days earlier, Jha said, "BJP is trying to push the entire nation into riots. They want such communal violence to spread."
On being asked why he had come late, and not on Thursday, when a brief demolition drive took place in the area, Jha added, "This is my area. I have been in touch with the people on phone. We have also appealed for peace."
On being asked about the CM's absence, Jha claimed that the issue has been raised by Kejriwal with Home Minister Amit Shah.
'Don't Look at It Through Religious Prism': Cong Leaders Visit Spot
A Congress delegation earlier visited the spot, led by General Secretary Ajay Maken, and comprising MP Shakti Singh Gohil and Delhi Congress chief Anil Chaudhary.
"We've come to Jahangirpuri to meet the victims. This (demolition drive) should not be seen through the prism of religion. It is an attack on the poor. The Congress party stands with them. We have come here to tell the victims that we stand with them," Maken Said.
Congress leader Ajay Maken holds up a document of MCD rules to show to the cameras as media and the police gather around him in Jahangirpuri.
(Photo: Eshwar/The Quint)
Delhi Congress President Anil Chaudhary later sat on a brief dharna at the spot and asked why the congress delegation was not being allowed to meet the victims of the eviction drive. Chaudhary too questioned where Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was and why was he silent on the issue.
The road where the demolition drive was conducted by the NDMC on Wednesday has been completely cordoned off by security forces. Violent clashes had broken out between two communities at this site during a Hanuman Jayanti procession on 16 April.
Traffic movement has also been restricted in the area, which has been heavily barricaded.
SC Stays Demolition Drive, Orders Status Quo To Be Maintained for 2 Weeks
The political visits came amid prevailing tension and heavy police deployment in the area, as all waited for the Supreme Court order earlier in the day.
The Supreme Court later issued a notice to the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) and others on a plea against the demolition drive, while ordering status quo to be maintained in the matter for two weeks.
"We will follow the orders of the Supreme Court. Any action will be taken after the court orders," North Delhi Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh said after the court's order.
TMC To Send Parliamentary Team to Jahangirpuri
Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has decided to send a five-member parliamentary team on Friday to Jahangirpuri on a fact-finding mission on the communal violence that took place on April 16.
The team, comprising woman MPs, will be led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, a three-time Lok Sabha member from Barasat constituency in North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal.
Notably, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, speaking at the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) in Kolkata, said, "we don’t want to bulldoze. We don't want to divide the people, we want to unite the people. Unity is our main strength, culturally you will be very sound if you are united. But, if you are divided, it will fall."
What Had Happened on Wednesday?
A drive to uproot illegal settlements had been initiated in Jahangirpuri on Wednesday, four days after clashes had broken out between two communities in the district on Hanuman Jayanti.
Soon after the eviction process was initiated using bulldozers, the Supreme Court had ordered the maintenance of the status quo as regards the NDMC's encroachment drive in Jahangirpuri, Delhi, effectively staying it.
However, the drive had continued for over an hour after the apex court pronounced its order.
"The anti-encroachment drive will be stopped as soon as we have received the Supreme Court order," North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh had been quoted as saying at the time by news agency ANI. Minutes earlier, after the court's order was delivered, Singh had said, "we have stopped our work (anti-encroachment drive in Jahangirpuri)."
The gate of a mosque in the violence-hit district was also demolished by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) on Wednesday. Tin roofs and alleged encroachments outside shops attached to the mosque were also demolished.
The court order came after some vending carts, shops, and other allegedly illegally constructions were destroyed by bulldozers during the anti-encroachment drive. The gate of a mosque was also pulled down after the order was pronounced.
Over 400 Delhi Police personnel had been deployed in Jahangirpuri on Wednesday, and forces of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were also stationed.
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