Congress congratulates Atishi, questions Kejriwal’s motives

DPCC chief Devendra Yadav appreciated that Delhi will be getting its third female CM, but said it will not help improve Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP’s) image “if Atishi is not a strong CM”

New Delhi

AAP leader Atishi is flanked by other party leaders after the legislative group elected her the next CM face. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

The Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee congratulated chief minister-elect Atishi, but questioned whether the public would benefit given that her tenure will be short-lived and said that had Arvind Kejriwal quit earlier, Delhi’s “infrastructure would not have crumbled” causing water shortage in summer and deaths in monsoon.

DPCC chief Devendra Yadav appreciated that Delhi will be getting its third female CM, but said it will not help improve Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP’s) image “if Atishi is not a strong CM”.

“Delhi has already seen over 15 years of rule by Sheila Dikshit from Congress, who was a very strong leader. Then, BJP also had a strong female CM. We hope that some of the increasing women’s issues, such as cases of rape, reduce in Delhi. AAP did not have a single female minister for several years. There were two SC ministers who have quit. I hope she is able to resolve the grievances of minorities,” Yadav said.

Having served as Delhi CM for 15 years, from 1998 to 2013, Dikshit is also the longest-serving female CM of an Indian state. Immediately preceding her, Sushma Swaraj from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was the CM for around three months in 1998.

The DPCC chief, however, attacked Arvind Kejriwal calling it his style to “withdraw from his promises when elections approach” and politicising issues by going to the masses an “old trick”.

“Kejriwal first said that he is being labelled corrupt, but people of Delhi will decide. If he had to resign on moral grounds, he should have quit when the charges were initially made against him. Now that he has been made a CM with conditions by the Supreme Court that he can’t sign any file, then nominating another CM is a compulsion,” Yadav said.

Former Delhi minister and communications chairman of DPCC, Haroon Yusuf, said that the Congress will return to power soon in Delhi. “The corruption by AAP is now in front of people and they want Congress to come back to power,” Yusuf said.