"Thank You, But...": BJP, AAP Spar Over Regularisation Of Delhi Colonies

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Housing Minister Hardeep Singh Puri sparred on Twitter

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia went back and forth on Twitter on Tuesday over the centre's move regularise nearly 2,000 unauthorised residential colonies in the national capital. On Monday Mr Sisodia questioned Mr Puri over what he said were discrepancies in the FAQs section of the DDA website, alleging the centre was misleading the public and challenging him to "give a straight answer - yes or no".

The Union Housing Minister hit back this morning, telling the Deputy Chief Minister he was "unable to understand some things due to lack of experience". Mr Puri said sections of the FAQs had been "simplified" for the Deputy Chief Minister's benefit.

"It is clear that the Honourable Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi is unable to understand some things due to lack of experience and he is getting entangled in the same two words he has heard. Things have been simplified (on the DDA website) to convince them," the BJP's Hardeep Puri tweeted in Hindi.

"When residents of these colonies will get loans for their houses, they will be able to get maps of houses and redevelopments in these colonies can happen... so why should they (the residents) worry?" he continued.

Mr Puri also hit out at Mr Sisodia and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and suggested they were causing confusion amongst Delhi residents with one eye on 2020 Assembly polls.

"Sisodia-ji and Kejriwal-ji should tell me... if people of 1,731 colonies are getting ownership of their houses and these are being registered, then what is the problem?" he asked.

Manish Sisodia responded to Mr Puri's long Twitter message with a "Thank you" but reminded the Union Minister that he still hadn't answered his original question.

"Thank you @HardeepSPuri sir! Earlier you had written about the Uday Yojana in two lines - "It is not the rule of unauthorised colonies or their houses". Make it a bit simpler and say if it is a rule or not? Yes or no? (or say that these BJP hoardings are false," he wrote.

Also on Monday, the AAP delivered an amusing and punchy response to an attack by Union Minister Prakash Javadekar in this same matter. The BJP leader had posted tweets in which he wrote: "You (referring to the AAP) cannot fool all the people all the time".

The AAP's tongue-in-cheek response: "Agreed! That's your area of expertise".

Last month the centre passed a bill to grant ownership rights to residents of 1,731 unauthorised residential colonies in the national capital. The move has been seen by many as politically significant since it benefits 40 to 50 lakh migrants who backed the AAP in large numbers in the 2015 Assembly election and could be a critical vote bank in next year's polls.