Ahead of Rahul Gandhi’s election rally in the national Capital on Sunday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched an offensive against him and the seven Congress MPs in Delhi. The party accused the Congress vice-president of being inconsiderate to the woes of Delhiites despite being a resident of the city. “Neither Gandhi nor his seven MPs ever took up Delhi-centric issues in Parliament. Rahul Gandhi must tell people in his rally what he has done for getting full Statehood to Delhi despite residing in Delhi for several years,” said former Delhi BJP president Vijay Goel.
Goel lamented that not a single question regarding Delhi was raised in Parliament despite three of the seven MPs being powerful Ministers in the incumbent Government. He said the Ministers — Kapil Sibal, Ajay Maken and Krishna Tirath — could have easily used their position to address the issues plaguing Delhi, but no effort was made by them. “The Government spent crores on refurbishing private buildings in Connaught Place during the Commonwealth Games but not a single penny was spent on redevelopment of Chandni Chowk. Similarly, the Government did nothing to address the housing needs in the Capital,” Goel alleged.
The BJP MP also targeted Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath, accusing her of being ‘indifferent’ to the safety of women. Goel, who has represented the Chandni Chowk constituency twice in the lok Sabha, said no decongestion plan for Old Delhi could be chalked out whereas the grievances of the traders too were not paid heed. He also took a jibe at the directive of Jama Masjid’s Shahi Imam, Syed Ahmed Bukhari to vote for the Congress saying he did not enjoy command over the people in Chandni Chowk and his move aimed at communalising the atmosphere ahead of elections.
Senior BJP leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra also came down heavily on Bukhari saying several criminal cases are pending against him in which courts have summoned him, but the court’s decision is not implemented.