Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Feb 24: After its rout in Delhi earlier this month, the Aam Aadmi Party is claimed to be disintegrating. The Congress has claimed that in the aftermath of the party losing power in Delhi, the AAP government in Punjab is under threat.
Punjab’s Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, Pratap Singh Bajwa of the Congress has claimed that “more than 32” MLAs of the ruling AAP were in touch with him and it is possible that others are in touch with the BJP, indicating that the Bhagwant Mann government is heading for a collapse.
He, however, added that the Congress would not be responsible for bringing down the government. “The BJP will do that,” he added. “It is not just MLAs there are ministers and other big leaders… But we have made it very much clear that the Congress under no circumstances will destabilise this government. It is the BJP who will do it,” he said.
The Congress, he added, wanted the AAP government to complete the five-year term, “So the people can see what kind of government they voted for.” The Congress leader claimed that the AAP leaders were upset with the fact that thousands of crores of rupees have gone to Australia and other states through hawala channels under the AAP rule. This, he said, was money from liquor and Change of land use. The “Delhi model is such, it brings experts in looting,’ he alleged.
AAP hit back, accusing Mr Bajwa of being in the process of shifting to the BJP. “Pratap Bajwa has already secured his ticket in BJP. He had met senior BJP leaders in Bengaluru,” said AAP leader Neel Garg. “Rahul Gandhi should keep an eye on Pratap Bajwa,” he added.
The Bhagwant Mann government has come under massive Opposition pressure since AAP’s rout in Delhi earlier this month. It has now initiated a massive anti-corruption drive – one of its pre-poll promises – and last week, dismissed 52 police officers, ranging from constables to inspectors, on charges of corruption.
Varinder Kumar, a 1993 batch IPS officer, was removed from his post as chief director of the Vigilance Bureau and was asked to report to the police chief. Sri Muktsar Sahib’s Deputy Commissioner Rajesh Tripathi, a 2016 batch IAS officer, was also suspended and an inquiry by the Vigilance Department was ordered against him.
Adding to the AAP’s problems, the BJP has decided to take the media persons on a “guided tour” inside ‘Sheesh Mahal’ – the bungalow in Delhi where the AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal lived when he was chief minister. The Flagstaff Road bungalow in Civil Lines had courted controversy in the run-up to the February elections over its luxurious renovations with the BJP calling out Mr Kejriwal over his claim of being an ‘aam aadmi‘ (common man).
Delhi Minister Parvesh Verma, who had defeated Mr Kejriwal in recent elections, told reporters on Monday that he would take reporters inside the bungalow to get a glimpse of how the previous AAP government used taxpayers’ money to fund the luxurious life of the chief minister.
The term ‘Sheesh Mahal’, a colloquial Hindi term for an opulent house, was coined by the BJP last year. Soon it became their most lethal weapon to level corruption charges against the AAP chief who had entered politics a decade ago with the image of an anti-corruption crusader. The bungalow’s makeover cost is claimed to be a whopping Rs 33 crore with the BJP alleging that the AAP had added extravagant amenities including a jacuzzi. The BJP had also shared some snapshots of the renovations.
Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva had alleged that four government properties were merged to turn it into a lavish complex spanning 50,000 sq metres. He has written to Lt Governor VK Saxena to cancel the merger. The party, however, has gone ahead with a plan to take reporters inside after the February elections dealt a shock defeat to the AAP. Mr Kejriwal’s party now sits in the opposition benches after finishing second to the BJP.
Mr Kejriwal lived in this bungalow during his tenure as the Chief Minister between 2015 and 2024. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, who is from the BJP, had decided not to stay here and a decision is yet to be taken about its future use.
