AAP claims Cong colluding with BJP, threatens INDIA alliance expulsion
New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has launched a scathing attack on Congress, accusing it of colluding with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming Delhi elections. Senior AAP leaders, including Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, condemned Congress leader Ajay Maken for parroting the BJP’s narrative to malign AAP leaders. AAP has given Congress 24 hours to take action against Maken, threatening to seek Congress’s expulsion from the INDIA alliance if the party fails to act.
Meanwhile, in a counterattack, the Delhi unit of Congress said AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal is “blaming others” but his party is paying the price for being the “B-team of the BJP”.
Speaking at a press conference, Sanjay Singh accused Congress of doing everything possible to benefit the BJP. He said, “One of their leaders, Ajay Maken, parrots the BJP’s script, issuing statements at their behest and targeting AAP leaders on their instructions.”
Singh pointed out the hypocrisy in Congress’s actions, emphasising that they had never called any BJP leader “anti-national.” He said, “Yesterday, Ajay Maken crossed all limits by calling Arvind Kejriwal, the most popular leader in Delhi and the most admired leader of the nation, who also leads our party, an ‘anti-national.’ If Arvind Kejriwal is anti-national, then tell me how he has managed to improve education, healthcare, electricity, water, and employment for the people of Delhi.”
Singh also highlighted the contrast between Congress’s treatment of AAP leaders and BJP leaders, pointing out, “To this day, neither Ajay Maken nor the Congress has ever dared to call any BJP leader anti-national in Delhi. But now, they have stooped to accusing us, and Arvind Kejriwal, of being anti-national.” He also noted that while AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal campaigned for Congress in Delhi and Chandigarh, Congress had never filed an FIR against any BJP leader.
Sanjay Singh warned, “If Congress leadership does not take action against Ajay Maken within 24 hours, AAP will appeal to the other constituent parties of the INDIA alliance to expel Congress from the alliance.”
Meanwhile, CM Atishi exposed Congress’s ties with the BJP, alleging that the BJP is funding Congress candidates in Delhi. She said, “Yesterday, senior Congress leader Ajay Maken said that Arvind Kejriwal is ‘anti-national.’ I want to ask the Congress, have you ever made such allegations against any BJP leader? Have you ever raised such questions against them? Yet today, you choose to accuse AAP and Arvind Kejriwal of being anti-national.”
Atishi further added, “Actions speak louder than words. Yesterday, the Congress filed an FIR against Arvind Kejriwal and me. Why?
Has the Congress Party ever filed a complaint or an FIR against the BJP? Not once. Yet they are relentlessly targeting the leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party.”
Atishi also revealed that there are reports of BJP funding Congress candidates in Delhi, including Sandeep Dikshit and Farhad Suri, who are allegedly receiving substantial financial support from the BJP. She stated, “We have received credible information that the BJP is funding the election campaigns of Congress candidates in Delhi.” The CM questioned Congress’s motives, saying, “Today, we want to ask the Congress why they are effectively aiding the BJP in the Delhi elections. If they have an issue with the Aam Aadmi Party or believe we are anti-national, why did they form an alliance with us for the Lok Sabha elections? Why did they invite Arvind Kejriwal to campaign for them?”
She concluded, “It is now crystal clear that the Congress Party’s leaders in Delhi have colluded with the BJP. They are conspiring to defeat the Aam Aadmi Party and pave the way for the BJP’s victory.” Atishi gave Congress a 24-hour ultimatum, saying, “If Congress fails to act against its leaders, AAP will be compelled to approach the other constituents of the INDIA alliance to reconsider whether it is feasible to remain in an alliance with Congress.”
In a statement, Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav claimed that after the party released a 12-point white paper on Wednesday, “exposing Kejriwal’s corruption”, AAP’s credibility hit a new low.
“With defeat staring at Kejriwal and leaders like Sanjay Singh, Manish Sisodia and Satyender Jain, who, after coming out of jail on bail, with the sword of arrest hanging over their heads still, have been desperately trying to salvage their damaged image and eroding support among the voters by blaming others for their plight, without admitting the fact that they were paying a heavy price for playing the role of the ‘B-team’ of the BJP,” Yadav alleged.
