New Delhi [India], December 6 (ANI): Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party-led (BJP) Delhi government and said that the state government has failed to provide even basic night shelter arrangements for the city’s poorest, leaving them to survive on the streets.

During a late-night inspection in Delhi Cantt on Friday, AAP MLAs Sanjeev Jha and Kuldeep Kumar found vulnerable families sleeping in the open despite the plunging temperatures, according to a release of the Aam Aadmi Party.

Sharing the inspection video on social media, AAP Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj said that the poor are being forced onto the streets in extreme cold.

"The poor are being forced onto the streets in extreme cold while the ‘Phulera-style BJP administration’ remains preoccupied with misconduct. The responsibility of inspecting night shelters lies with ministers, yet AAP MLAs are the ones doing the work the government has neglected," he said, as per the release.

Sharing what they witnessed, Sanjeev Jha said that the government made tall claims, but the ground reality is that there are no night shelters at all.

"In the biting cold at 11:30 at night, there is not a single arrangement by the government visible here. Hundreds of people are being forced to sleep on the pavement. The government made tall claims, but the ground reality is that a night shelter recently caught fire, and in many places there are no night shelters at all," he added.

The AAP MLA noted, "It seems the government is waiting for people to die from the cold and for the statistics to come out, only then they will rush to make preparations. This is exactly like when pollution reached lethal levels, and people began leaving Delhi, only then, BJP Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa started water sprinkling."

Recalling how arrangements were handled earlier, Sanjeev Jha said, "When the AAP Government was in power, we identified locations and built night shelters. Ministers and their representatives supervised the arrangements. But today’s government sought votes in the name of Lord Ram and has left the public completely on their own."

Sanjeev Jha stated, "The poor are not a priority because this is a Government of the rich. They take votes from the poor, and after winning, they stand with the rich because their earnings come from them. Schemes like the Arvind Kejriwal Government’s Mohalla Clinics, meant for the poor, have been shut down, leaving people in jhuggis without basic healthcare. If this government has even a shred of shame left, they should pay attention to these poor citizens; otherwise, their curses will fall on this government."

During the inspection, MLA Kuldeep Kumar underlined the scale of the crisis.

He said, "This is not just the condition of Delhi Cantt. In major areas like Sarai Kale Khan and Anand Vihar ISBT, we are witnessing the same situation. The cold is so severe that we ourselves were struggling to speak, so how do these people survive the entire night? Some people were warming their hands over small fires. Those who once claimed they would distribute heaters should at least ensure night shelter facilities reach the poor."

Calling out the administration’s neglect, he said, "This four-engine Government seems determined to ruin Delhi. Near Kashmere Gate ISBT, where a night shelter once existed, there is now only a photograph of CM Rekha Gupta, while the actual arrangements are zero. Earlier, people were taken to night shelters with dignity, but now they are left on the streets."

Kuldeep Kumar said, "We call upon CM Rekha Gupta to wake up and provide shelter for the poor. The AAP will raise the voice of the poor from the streets to the Assembly and will not allow the BJP Government to sleep peacefully. It is deeply shameful that the government sleeps comfortably with heaters in their homes while Delhi’s poorest are forced to shiver on the streets." (ANI)