AAP tells Congress, BJP to clear stand on full statehood for Delhi

In its 2015 manifesto ahead of assembly elections in Delhi, Ajay Maken, then president of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee, had included full statehood for Delhi in the party’s manifesto. In February, AAP had won the election with a sweeping majority.

The Aam Aadmi Party on Friday threatened to stage demonstrations outside the Delhi offices of the BJP and the Congress on March 10 and 11 if the parties fail to make public their political stand on the matter of full statehood for Delhi.

The Aam Aadmi Party on Friday threatened to stage demonstrations outside the Delhi offices of the BJP and the Congress on March 10 and 11 if the parties fail to make public their political stand on the matter of full statehood for Delhi.(Sushil Kumar/HT PHOTO)

“We demand that they clear their stand on [the issue of] full statehood for Delhi,” Gopal Rai, AAP’s Delhi convener, said on Friday.

Rai also pointed out how the BJP was one of the major forces pushing for Delhi’s statehood since 1988 and named leaders like former Delhi chief minister Madan Lal Khurana, Saheb Singh Verma and LK Advani as pioneers in the movement.

But the promises never materialised, Rai said.

“It is a known fact that BJP was the first to raise the demand for full statehood of Delhi long ago but, over years, leaders of the party have realised the futility of it,” said Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor.

“Because of Delhi’s special status – being both the national capital and a union territory – it gets several central grants, mostly in the areas of infrastructure, health, power and water facilities. Full statehood would take away such privileges from the people of Delhi,” he added.

In its 2015 manifesto ahead of assembly elections in Delhi, Ajay Maken, then president of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee, had included full statehood for Delhi in the party’s manifesto. In February, AAP had won the election with a sweeping majority.

“After the elections, we removed full statehood for Delhi from the party’s agenda,” said Delhi Congress spokesperson Jitender Kochar. “We Congress could run Delhi government for three terms without full statehood, why can’t any other party do so?”

Constitutional provisions make Delhi a special state in which the legislative assembly has no control over establishments of public order, police and rights over the land under the jurisdiction of the national capital territory of Delhi.

The Aam Aadmi Party is going to start a door-to-door campaign across the national capital from March 10 to push for the demand.

Rai , on Friday, also attacked the BJP government at the Centre for not approving three out of six Metro lines in the city in the last Cabinet meeting that was held yesterday (Thursday).