AAP indulging in cheap political gimmick over felling of trees, says BJP

The Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was indulging in “cheap political gimmicks” over the sensitive issue of felling of trees after its government issued necessary permission for it for the re-development of residential facilities for central government employees.

“It is sad to see cheap political gimmicks being played in such a sensitive issue by the Delhi government after it issued permission to fell trees,” Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari said.

Tiwari said he belonged to an agrarian family and the news reports of felling of trees and ‘Chipko’ movement-type agitation by the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP had disturbed him a lot.

“It is sad that for sheer politics of Kejriwal Party is belittling the piousness and significance of Chipko Andolan, which was run to save the green character of an entire terrain, by comparing it to the present situation where the green character of the area will not be disturbed except for in a very small area,” according to a press statement issued by the party.

The BJP president said, “...I firmly believe existing green cover should not be cut until inevitable.”

“It was Delhi government which gave the mandatory permission for the felling and replantation of trees as required under law in full knowledge of the minister concerned, Imran Hussain, and therefore the ongoing drama by the ruling party is nothing more then a cheap gimmick,” he said.

“The project authorities have ensured that almost three trees shall be planted for every one tree cut and most of these new planted trees will grow up in two years by the time the project completes,” he said.

Tiwari said yet a delegation of the Delhi BJP would soon meet Union housing and urban affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri and request him to see that as many trees as possible are spared from cutting or are transplanted in the vicinity and new trees are planted before the start of monsoon.

“Delhi BJP strongly condemns the dirty politics of gimmicks being played by Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party in this matter,” he added.

Locals, activists and environmentalists protested on Sunday against the government’s order to fell over 14,000 trees for the re-development of seven south Delhi colonies.

About 1,500 protesters hugged the trees in Sarojini Nagar, launching their own “Chipko Movement”, a forest conservation movement where people embraced trees to prevent them from being cut in Uttarakhand (then Uttar Pradesh) in the 1970s.