Medha Patkar slams Congress for demolishing Sultan Bazaar

Hyderabad: Medha Patkar, the Aam Aadmi Party candidate from Mumbai, who was campaigning in Hyderabad for the party, said that Hyderabad Metro Rail authorities should have taken the approval from everybody in the area before finalising the corridor through Sultan Bazaar.

“It’s a 200-year-old heritage area and thousands rely on it. Many hawkers and vendors have been living there for decades and the government destroyed it without taking anybody’s approval. Only a party like AAP that can relate to the hawkers will question it and only AAP will stop it. The hawkers are with us,” she said.

The Aam Aadmi Party has brought several of its national committee leaders and star campaigners to the city just a couple of days before the election. Shazia Ilmi, V. Balakrishnan, and Rajendra Singh are others who have been vigorously campaigning across Hyderabad, in Amberpet, M.S. Maktha and Koti.

“People living in bastis must be given ownership of their land. But many leaders are now taking to land grabbing. Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy cannot do much in the way of welfare and the Telugu Desam and the BJP have now come together. Only a party like AAP, which started its election strategy by taking on the Ambanis can deliver,” Ms Patkar said.

Rajendra Singh, the ‘Water Man of India’ pointed out that none of the major political parties have any plans for conservation of natural resources.
“The TD and the Congress could not provide for basic needs such as water to people in the state. Chandrababu Naidu had approached me for renovation of the Swarnamukhi river in Chittoor district, but he did nothing about encroachments of river beds. Similarly, the Musi river has been converted into a drai-nage nala. Krishna-Godavari gas extraction led to submergence of the sea bed, apart from corruption involved in illegal gas pricing. AAP will strive for decentralised governance where power lies with people,” Mr Singh said.