Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 19: Besides the split in the Nationalist Congress Party, the continued frictions between the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has put up a big question over the INDIA alliance of the opposition parties to present an united front against the BJP-led NDA in the 2024 Parliamentary elections.
A section of the Congress, particularly its Delhi and Punjab units were always wary over having any tie with the AAP. But despite their opposition, the Congress high command had invited the AAP to attend the second meeting of INDIA in Bengaluru last month and had also voted against the Delhi Services Bill though it was still passed by both houses of Parliament and has become an act.
But soon after the unity show, the Delhi Congress last week unilaterally announced that the party would contest all the seen Lok Sabha seats in Delhi signalling a “no-truck” with the AAP. This apparently has ignited another bout of war of words between the two parties and the AAP has also threatened to boycott the proposed third meeting of INDIA in Mumbai at the end of this month unless there was a clarification on the Congress designs for Delhi.
Apparently to cause discomfiture to the Congress, the AAP chief and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal visited the poll-bound Chhattisgarh on Saturday and strongly criticised the conditions of the government schools in the Congress-ruled states. The Congress immediately hit back questioning his logic of visiting Chhattisgarh when the AAP was a partner in INDIA alliance.
Taking a swipe at the Congress government, Kejriwal addressing a public meeting in Raipur talked about the “terrible quality” of government schools in Chhattisgarh. “I was reading a report that said government schools in Chhattisgarh are in terrible condition. They have closed many schools. There are schools in which there used to be 10 classes, but only teacher used to be there. Many teachers are not getting salaries too,” Kejriwal said. “Look at the condition of government schools in Delhi or ask your relatives who stay in Delhi. For the first time since Independence, a government has come that is doing so much for the education sector. We are not politicians, we are just common people like you,” Kejriwal said, referring to the ideology of the party that he co-founded, which drew its name from the Hindi word for a common man.
Soon after Kejriwal’s comments, Congress leader Pawan Khera questioned the need for comparing Chhattisgarh with Delhi, when the comparison should be with the previous Raman Singh government in Chhattisgarh.
One of the bragging rights that Mr Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, has often openly shown is examples about how the AAP government in the national capital has improved infrastructure and quality of learning in state-run schools.
Mr Khera, responding to the AAP chief, said there was no need for Kejriwal to come to Raipur. “Why go to Raipur? Performance of our Chhattisgarh government will be compared with the previous Raman Singh govt. Let us choose a sector of your choice and compare the performance of the Congress government in Delhi vs your govt here. Ready for a debate?” Khera said in a post on X.
Kejriwal at the Raipur event also promised free electricity up to 300 units in Chhattisgarh if the AAP forms government. He was accompanied by party colleague and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
This was not the first time the two INDIA bloc members have exchanged passive-aggressive words on making plans for fighting state elections. On Thursday, a statement by Congress leader Alka Lamba that the party has asked its leaders to prepare for a contest in all the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi next year had raised a row with the AAP.
The AAP took a strong view of Lamba’s claims and said, the “Congress leader’s statement is very surprising. After such statements, what is the justification of the INDIA alliance? Arvind Kejriwal ji should decide on what to do next, which is important in the interest of the country.
Soon, Deepak Babaria, the Congress’s in-charge of Delhi, stepped in to clarify after the AAP expressed “surprise” and questioned the need for the INDIA bloc if parties are going to go solo. Babaria said the comment was the leader’s (Ms Lamba’s) opinion and no plan on seat-sharing was discussed in the meeting. “We did not discuss that issue in today’s meeting. The discussion was about how to strengthen the party in Delhi,” Babaria said.
The split in the NCP with nephew Ajit Pawar taking a section of the party to join hands with the Shiv Sena (Shinde) – BJP government in Maharashtra has put a question mark about the future of the uncle Sharad Pawar faction. Many in the opposition block are sceptical that the veteran leader was being pressurised by the nephew to join the NDA. In a bid to keep the party, which he founded some 25 years ago, together the veteran leader may be finally forced to toe Ajit Pawar’s line.