The star campaigners of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have descended in the national Capital going full throttle against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ahead of the high-octane Delhi Assembly elections with its prominent leaders including party president and Union Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda, and three chief ministers-Uttar Pradesh (UP) Chief Minister (CM) Yogi Adityanath, Madhya Pradesh CM Mohanlal Yadav, and Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami-holding multiple rallies, road shows and public meetings across the length and breadth of the city.
In his maiden speech ahead of the polls, Adityanath accused the AAP of settling Bangladeshi and Rohingya nationals in Delhi and compromising national security while hitting out at the ruling party for being involved in the riots that took place in the national Capital in 2020.
Sounding the poll bugle, the senior BJP leader launched a scathing attack on the AAP and its supremo Arvind Kejriwal. “There is an Okhla industrial area in Delhi but there has been no trade there for the past 10 years. While the AAP took no interest in setting up industries there, they have undoubtedly settled Rohingyas and Bangladeshis there,” he said.
Yogi claimed that AAP leaders are distributing Aadhars at homes to Rohingya and Bangladeshi infiltrators. “And on the other side you can see New Okhla [NOIDA]. Compare the roads of Delhi to Noida and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, there is a difference of sky and earth. There are world class educational institutions and medical colleges in UP while the educational institutions run by Delhi government are in a very bad condition,” he alleged.
Calling it a ‘well thought conspiracy’, the firebrand leader said, “They have not just kept the people of Delhi devoid of basic facilities, they have also compromised on national security through their actions. You must have seen the riots in Delhi in 2020 and how the AAP leaders and councillors were engaged in that. They are repeatedly messing with national security.”
“Near the Jamia Millia in Delhi, acres of land belong to the irrigation department of UP. AAP leaders have settled illegal Bangladeshis there. I requested the Delhi government to stop the Illegal occupation but when they did not cooperate I had to send bulldozers from UP,” Yogi said, in a public address in Janakpuri.
Hitting out at the AAP over Yamuna river, he asked the AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal to take a bath in Yamuna river with his ministers like he took a dip in Sangam with his cabinet ministers and blamed him for changing the river into a dirty sewer. He added that the dirty Yamuna river flows from Delhi to Mathura and Vrindavan, causing trouble to the saints there.
He also called the AAP an ‘ATM’ of lies. “They do not want to work for the betterment of people. They only have one job: to tell lies through social media, tweets and press conferences. The time they waste by becoming an ATM of lies, if they had utilized this time to do the work for the people then the face of Delhi would have changed. They have changed Delhi into a ‘kudaghar’ (garbage dump),” the UP CM said.
“If he can betray his guru Anna Hazare, he can also betray the people and the country. I can confidently say that the people of Delhi will no longer fall for his statements anymore,” he added.
On AAP’s ‘Pujari Granthi Samman Yojana’ scheme, Yogi attacked the AAP for not undertaking any work for the beautification of temples in Delhi. “They forgot the Valmiki priests. AAP does not have Ravidas temple priests in their agenda. Even today, they are playing their divide and rule policy. People have already decided that they will make BJP win since the Lok Sabha election when they gave us their 100 per cent support,” he said. He also addressed two more public meetings in Karol Bagh and Janakpuri assembly constituency.
Nadda also held two rallies in Delhi at Uttam Nagar and Shakur Basti. Addressing a public meeting in west Delhi’s Uttam Nagar, Nadda launched a blistering attack on the AAP, alleging that the party broke all records of corruption during its 10-year rule in Delhi.
The Union minister listed the excise policy case among ‘scams’ that allegedly took place during the AAP’s two consecutive terms. The party cut the pockets of everyone in Delhi during its tenure, he charged.
The AAP government broke all records of corruption during its 10-year rule in Delhi, Nadda told the gathering. “The one who becomes the darling of the Muslim community while indulging in corruption in every department, has also committed a scam of 100 crores in the Waqf Board,” he said.
Nadda called AAP national convenor and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal a ‘liar’. “He lies with so much innocence on his face that if a competition of lying is organised at the national level, he will come first. But the people of Delhi will give a befitting reply to the AAP in the assembly polls,” the BJP leader said. Nadda said this election is for the future of Delhi and the voters should keep that in mind.
Meanwhile, Yadav also addressed two rallies at Madipur and Rohini. In his address at Madipur, the Chief Minister said that the AAP supremo keeps lying. “He said he will not form any political party, take any bunglow or security. He has a skin thicker than that of a buffalo,” he said.
Attacking the former Chief Minister, Yadav accused Kejriwal of being so hungry for power that he did not even resign even though he was arrested.
Spearheading the BJP’s campaign in Delhi, Dhami held two road shows in Palam and Delhi Cantt constituencies with several supporters coming out to support him.
During the road show in Delhi Cantt, Dhami accused the AAP government of failing to deliver on key issues. “The AAP government has not worked in the last 10 years. They failed to provide clean water, engaged in corruption in every scheme, and built their Sheesh Mahal with public money,” he said.
He asserted that the BJP would form a “double-engine government” in Delhi, ensuring the effective implementation of central government’s schemes like Ayushman Bharat.
Delhi will vote on February 5 and the counting of votes will take place on February 8. While AAP seeks a third consecutive term, the BJP is aiming to return to power in the national capital after more than 25 years.
