Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Sunday got a pat on her back from none other than Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi who praised her for the overall development of the Capital. Addressing a rally at Ramlila Maidan here on Sunday, Rahul said, “Delhi has changed. The situation today is not what it used to be in the past. We have better roads… and what not. I thank Sheila ji for turning the Capital around through massive infrastructure development.”
 
Several Metro expansion and road projects were commissioned in Delhi keeping in mind the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
 
Dikshit reciprocated the gesture and described the Gandhi scion as “aasha ki kiran” (a ray of hope) in her welcome speech. She also hinted it’s about time for an offensive. “Aaj Delhi me jo Congress ka mahual hai wo varsho se nahi tha (Today Congress has a wave in Delhi which had been missing for years,” she said.
 
But though the assembly elections in Delhi are slated for next year, the top Congress leadership didn’t sound the poll bugle.  Arvind Kejriwal of India Against Corruption (IAC) and state BJP leaders such as Vijay Goel and Vijendra Gupta have been attacking the government over civic issues ahead of the polls.

As Prime Minister Man-mohan Singh and Congress leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi “focused on national issues”, even Dikshit chose not to refer to the state BJP or IAC leaders.

On Sunday itself, IAC accused the Congress of pushing the country into a ditch and the Delhi BJP observed a ‘black day’ across the Capital to protest the Ramlila rally.

Mukesh Sharma, parliamentary secretary to Dikshit, explained, “It was a national stage. But Rahul ji did praise the chief minister for an unprecedented growth Delhi has seen. It’s a huge confidence booster.” 

“It’s (the praise) is an achievement for us and an acknowledgement for the kind of work the chief minister has been doing for the last 14-15 years. We’re geared up for the next elections and today’s turnout shows people will make her (Dikshit) Delhi’s chief minister for the fourth time,” he said.