40 lakh people living in unauthorised colonies in Delhi will be given ownership rights (Representational)
This Diwali, the leaders of BJP have a task cut out for them to visit all houses in unauthorised colonies that are set to get legal status soon.
To ensure that the big-ticket announcement of regularising unauthorised colonies from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet is not lost on Delhi voters, BJP working president JP Nadda, in a core group meeting held at BJP headquarters on Friday evening, asked all ticket aspirants and those who are post holders in the party to go door to door and give Diwali wishes to the people of unauthorised colonies.
He has further directed the ticket aspirants to make the people of the unauthorised colonies aware of Central government's decision.
There looms a danger that the credit for this historic decision may be stolen away by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, hence the party has deployed its leaders in unauthorised colonies.
This is coming at a time when BJP is burning midnight oil to stock up the numbers to form the government in Haryana and has held discussions with JJP's leader Dushyant Chautala and also with the Independents who won the state assembly polls.
All its leaders have been asked to celebrate Diwali with the residents of unauthorised colonies. Apart from this, the leaders will organise public meetings, go door to door and reach out to the residents of the 1728 unauthorised colonies that have been cleared by the Cabinet to be regularised soon.
Moreover, to ensure that the decision to regularise unauthorised colonies doesn't look like another poll gimmick by the ruling dispensation in the Centre, the party has asked all its leaders to give full explainer on the process of regularisation.
According to a senior party leader, the leaders have also been asked to spend at least four hours in unauthorised colonies of their respective constituencies starting from Saturday. The Delhi BJP has been given a task to clarify and stake claim on the decision taken by the Centre.
Delhi has remained elusive for BJP for at least two decades now and BJP wants to change this trend.
"There are two types of villages in Delhi -- rural and urban. While rural's works are to be done by the Delhi government, urban falls under the jurisdiction of Delhi Development Authority which is a Central government agency," informed a senior BJP leader privy to the agenda of the meeting.
"Now, the Centre has approved task to notify many of these rural into urban and thus the power to legalise their power of attorney into registry lies with the DDA. The state agencies have to handover maps and other documents to the DDA which will be done soon," the leader added.
While Delhi BJP has been handed the task to explain to residents of unauthorised colonies that Modi government is looking after their concerns and interests, it is yet to be seen how effectively the party undertakes the exercise.