The plight of the homeless today took centrestage in the Delhi Assembly with the BJP seeking to corner the ruling AAP over alleged deaths due to cold even as the government claimed the city's night shelters can house at least 30,000 people.
According to the Delhi Urban Shelter Development Board (DUSIB), the nodal agency in charge of the night shelters, under the existing arrangements, not more than 21,000 people can use the facilities.
Delhi Urban Development Minister Satyendar Jain's claim that 23,000 people were staying at the shelters also ran counter to available records as the DUSIB says the peak occupancy this season has been 13,937.
"There are arrangements for 30,000 persons at night shelters, where 23,000 are staying presently. So, we can accommodate 7,000 more persons," Jain said on the floor of the House.
He made the statement after BJP MLAs, led by Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta, raised the matter soon after the House assembled, demanding a discussion.
Speaker Ram Niwas Goel turned down their demand, but the four MLAs kept on disrupting the agenda listed for the day.
Later, Gupta was allowed to raise the matter.
He quoted a tweet by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal last week when he had targeted DUSIB CEO Shurbir Singh over the alleged deaths of 44 homeless people in the first week of January.
"The government should present a detailed report over the issue. They should also tell if any notice has been issued to DUSIB which was mentioned by the CM in his tweet," Gupta said.
Jain hit back at the BJP dubbing the party a "kambal chor" (blanket thieves).
"They enact drama. First they distribute blankets and then collect them back," Jain said.
The BJP legislators, including Gupta, staged a walk out then.
Last week, when the issue of alleged deaths of the homeless had emerged, the DUSIB had issued a statement rejecting the claim made by an NGO.
According to the agency's occupancy report, its 263 night shelters, run through NGOs on contract basis, have a capacity to house 20,934 people.
Of the 261 shelters, 83 are concrete structures, 115 are porta cabins, while the rest, save one, are tents.
Every night, a subway near AIIMS is thrown open for the families of outstation patients thronging the premier hospital to take shelter.
Meanwhile, in a counter attack, AAP legislators tried to shout down BJP legislators by raising the issue of atrocities against Dalits and the alleged foul play behind the death of special CBI judge B H Loya.
Earlier, Karawal Nagar MLA Kapil Mishra, who was suspended from the AAP and removed as a minister last year, was marshalled out for the second consecutive day as he alleged "financial dealings" behind AAP's Rajya Sabha choices.
He entered the House wrapping his mouth with a piece of cloth and carrying a banner with a list of allegations against the AAP and Chief Minister Kejriwal, who was not present in the House for the third day on the trot.
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