Blow to Opposition Alliance: Fuming AAP to Seek Removal of Congress from INDIA Bloc

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Dec 26: The differences among the opposition parties has reached a new low with the Aam Aadmi Party after accusing the Congress of helping the BJP to win the coming elections to the Delhi Assembly,  demanded that it be removed from the INDIA bloc if its central leadership failed to discipline its Delhi leaders.

Fuming over the Delhi Congress leader Ajay Maken branding the party patriarch Arvind Kejriwal “anti-national,” the top AAP leaders including the Delhi chief minister Atishi, said on Thursday that the AAP would talk to other parties within the opposition INDIA alliance to get the Congress ejected from the bloc if it did not take action against Mr Maken.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, the AAP’s senior leader Sanjay Singh and Ms Atishi alleged that the Congress “is working hand in glove with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to make it win in Delhi.” “Delhi Congress leader Ajay Maken ji, reads BJP’s scripts and gives statements on BJP’s directions and target AAP. Yesterday, he crossed all limits by saying Mr Kejriwal is “anti-national” and further registered complaints against him.”

The Congress or Ajay Maken have never called any BJP leader in Delhi “anti-national”, Mr Singh said.

The AAP is upset with the Congress after it filed a complaint against party convener Mr Kejriwal, accusing him of “misleading and deceiving” the public with promises of “non-existent” welfare schemes. “If National Congress is not involved in Delhi Congress’ conspiracy, then they should take action against their Delhi leaders,” Atishi added.

For the Lok Sabha polls Mr Kejriwal campaigned for the Congress in Delhi as well in Haryana, he said. “Now, we feels that Congress’ statements are coming from the BJP office,” Mr Singh alleged. “We demand the Congress to take action against Ajay Maken in 24 hours, else we will demand other parties in the INDIA bloc to remove Congress from the alliance,” Mr Singh said.

Chief Minister Atishi went a step further and alleged that the BJP was funding candidates of Congress for the Delhi Assembly elections ”We have come to know that Sandeep Dikshit is getting funds from BJP. We have come to know that Farhad Suri, who is fighting from Jangpura, is getting crores of rupees from the BJP,” Ms Atishi alleged.

Echoing Mr Singh’s demand for action against Mr Maken, Ms Atishi said the Congress leaders in Delhi leaders have come to an understanding with BJP to defeat the AAP.

On Wednesday, All India Congress Committee treasurer, Ajay Maken, had said in his personal opinion, “it was a mistake to have an alliance with the AAP in the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi.” “I feel that today, the current plight of Delhi, as well as that of the Congress, is due to our support to AAP in 2013. It was perhaps a mistake that was made again in this year’s Lok Sabha poll,” he had said.

Mr Maken made the comments while the Congress released a 12-point “White Paper” to highlight the “unfulfilled” promises of the AAP government in Delhi and the BJP-led government at the Centre over the past 10 years.

The massive face-off comes months after the AAP and Congress contested the Lok Sabha polls in Delhi in alliance. During the general election, leaders of both parties had campaigned for each other’s candidates. The efforts, however, came to naught because the BJP won all seven seats in the capital.

“Arvind Kejriwal had campaigned for Congress candidates in Delhi. He campaigned for Congress in Chandigarh too. AAP repeatedly stands with the Congress on issues in Parliament. And you are calling our leader anti-national, Youth Congress is registering FIR against him?”

Mr Singh then referred to the Haryana Assembly polls and said the AAP had tried its best to ally with Congress. “But the Congress disagreed. So we fought the election but did not utter an inappropriate word for Congress or its leaders. Show us one statement,” he said.

The Rajya Sabha MP said “all limits have been crossed”. “The audacity Ajay Maken has shown, I demand that the Congress acts against him within 24 hours. Otherwise we will approach the partners in INDIA alliance and seek removal of Congress from the bloc,” he said.

Chief Minister Atishi said the Congress’s actions and words make it clear that it has “tied up” with the BJP for the Delhi election. “Has the Congress ever filed a police complaint against BJP? No. But they are doing so against AAP leaders.”

Speaking to the media, senior Congress leader Ajay Maken said AAP came to power riding on an anti-corruption movement but has failed to set up a Janlokpal in Delhi. “If there is one word to describe former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal here then it would be Farziwal,” he said. “If anyone is the king of fraud in the entire country then it is Kejriwal and that is why we have come here with a white paper on the Kejriwal government and also on the BJP government at the Centre,” Mr Maken added.

After the massive row over advertisements erupted on Wednesday, Maken said the grand old party’s decision to support the AAP in 2013 led to its decline in Delhi. He added that there was a need to rectify the “mistake” of aligning with the AAP for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Supporting AAP on the issue, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Fakhrul Hasan Chaand said the language used by Ajay Maken was not good, and cannot be accepted. “SP wants everyone to be united against BJP. Akhilesh Yadav ji has already said AAP can defeat BJP in Delhi. So we will support Kejriwal’s party. The dignity of language should always be maintained,” he added. Chaand further said national leadership of both parties should talk to each other. If need be, SP will mediate, SP leader added.

Reacting to the latest controversy, Congress leader Abhishek Dutt said, “Kejriwal has looted Delhi. He has been abusing Sandeep Dikshit for no reason. Kejriwal knows he will lose the election.”

“Kejriwal knows Manish Sisodia is losing from Jangpura, hence, using low tactics,” Congress candidate from Jangpura, Farhad Suri

called Atishi’s allegations “low thinking of CM and AAP.” “No Congressman is going to take money from BJP. Anyone can check my family background. It’s nothing but a foolish talk. God give them sense,” the leader said.

The Delhi Youth Congress had on Wednesday lodged a complaint against AAP chief over “non-existent” schemes. “It has come to light that various Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Councillors of AAP have been actively collecting sensitive personal information from the public, including Voter ID details and phone numbers. This data is being collected through an online registration process, which requires OTP verification,” the complaint alleged.

“However, it has been publicly clarified by the Women and Child Development (WCD) Department, via an official advertisement, that no such scheme is being implemented. This unequivocally establishes that the Aam Aadmi Party has engaged in fraudulent practices, thereby breaching the trust of the people of Delhi,” the Youth Congress complaint alleged,