The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress joined a mahapanchayat organized by villagers from Mehram Nagar near Indira Gandhi International Airport on Sunday to protest against recent eviction notices.

Addressing the gathering, Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav said his party would not allow even a single house to be demolished in the nearly 300-year-old Mehram Nagar. “The bulldozers would have to go past us if the BJP government dares to deploy them to demolish the houses at Mehram Nagar,” he warned.

“The NSG has not explained why it wants to evict people from their land. We will protest the eviction unless it is an issue of national security. They [NSG] cannot wake up one day and say they need the land,” said Mr. Yadav.

Mehram Nagar, located near IGI Airport’s Terminal 1D, is home to over 15,000 people. Residents claim the village is over 300 years old, while the NSG established a base only in 1986.

An official familiar with the matter said that the land belongs to the government, and the villages are well aware of this. “This eviction notice has not been sent overnight. The villagers are aware that they have been occupying the government land,” the official said.

AAP Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said that the villagers of Mehram Nagar have the support of their party, as well as that of all villages in Delhi. “Today, people from all villages have gathered here to send a message to the government that such arbitrariness will not be tolerated,” Mr. Bharadwaj said.

Mr. Singh said during the Delhi Assembly election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised ‘jahan jhuggi, wahan makaan’ (where there is a jhuggi, there will be a home). “But, the BJP is bent on razing the Mehram Nagar. AAP will keep fighting against the BJP’s bulldozer action,” he added.