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AAP says it will seek Congress’s removal from INDIA bloc
The comments about Congress’s continuance in the INDIA bloc come days after key constituents of the grouping backed West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to head it
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday said it would seek Congress’s removal from the Opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) if it did not take action against its leaders for their statements against the Delhi’s ruling party and for allegedly receiving the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s funding. It accused Congress’s Delhi unit of working with the BJP to ensure AAP’s defeat in the Delhi polls due early next year.
“On Wednesday, [Congress leader] Ajay Maken called [AAP chief] Arvind Kejriwal anti-national. Have they ever used such words for the BJP leaders? Youth Congress has filed a police complaint against the AAP chief. Have they ever filed FIRs [first information reports] against BJP leaders? We have got to know that the BJP is also funding the campaign of Congress leaders like Sandeep Dikshit and Farhad Suri,” AAP leader and chief minister Atishi said at a joint press conference with lawmaker Sanjay Singh. She said the actions of the Congress indicate that it is working in alliance with the BJP for the Delhi elections.
Atishi said that Congress should not have fought Lok Sabha elections with AAP if its leaders thought Kejriwal was anti-national. “Congress must tell who is funding the campaign of Dikshit and Farhad Suri...take action against Maken. We will talk to other INDIA bloc partners that alliance with Congress cannot continue,” she said.
Atishi’s comments about Congress’s continuance in the INDIA bloc come days after key constituents of the grouping backed West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to head it amid growing calls for a shake-up within the coalition. The grouping has flagged since it did well in the national polls as the BJP fell short of the halfway mark of 272 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha for the first time since 2014, making it dependent on allies to form the government. Banerjee has said she was willing to lead the coalition if given an opportunity. INDIA bloc of around two dozen parties was formed last year to counter the BJP.
The AAP-Congress tensions escalated on Wednesday as Delhi Congress unveiled a “white paper” citing BJP and AAP’s mismanagement and unkept promises. Maken attacked AAP and its leadership at the launch of the “white paper”. Delhi Pradesh’s Youth Congress later filed a police complaint against Kejriwal and AAP for misleading voters and fraud.
Sanjay Singh echoed Atishi and asked the Congress to take action against Maken. “Delhi Congress is supporting the BJP on every issue. They are doing everything to provide an advantage to the BJP. Maken is reading the BJP’s script. He crossed all limits by calling Arvind Kejriwal an anti-national. Congress is filing FIRs against Arvind Kejriwal who campaigned for the Congress candidates in Lok Sabha elections in Delhi and Chandigarh,” he said.
Singh said the AAP tried to ally with the Congress in Haryana until the last moment. “Congress was not ready to fight the election with us. We contested the Haryana polls but never abused their leaders. Not a single word was spoken against the Congress leaders,” Singh said.
He alleged the Congress’s list of candidates has been prepared to cause maximum damage to the AAP. “It appears that the list was being prepared at the BJP office. People are being fielded with the sole goal of causing damage to the AAP’s prospects.”
There was no immediate response from the Congress.
Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva rejected the AAP’s allegations. “It takes only one incompetent entity to ruin a place...Delhi has suffered the misfortune of having two over the past 26 years. Congress governed Delhi poorly for 15 years, and now for almost 12 years, Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP has followed suit.”
He questioned where was the integrity of Atishi and Maken when they walked hand in hand during the Lok Sabha elections. “Today, both parties are accusing each other, but their opportunistic alliance during the parliamentary elections speaks volumes about their real motives,” he said. “When you [Kejriwal and Atishi] were busy taking photos with [Congress leaders] Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi and traveling across the nation under the banner of INDIA, where was your self-respect?”
He emphasised the BJP has been battling against Congress and AAP’s corruption for the last 27 years. Sachdeva accused Atishi of parroting Congress’s script. He added Congress was playing into AAP’s hands. “Voting for Congress essentially means voting for the AAP. Voting for AAP is akin to supporting Congress. This time the people of Delhi would not fall for their distractions and are ready for a change. The BJP remains steadfast in fighting against every corrupt party that has played a role in ruining Delhi.”
