Training its guns on the Aam Aadmi Party, Delhi Congress on Sunday launched the Poll Khol Abhiyan against former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, whom it accused of ‘abandoning Delhi at the mercy of bureaucrats’ to further his own ‘political ambitions’. led by Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee chief Arvinder Singh lovely, scores of party workers who gathered at Connaught Place’s Central Park also burnt a 20 ft effigy of ‘Kejriwal’s falsehood’.
Accusing Kejriwal of making false promises to the people of the Capital, lovely said, “If Guinness Book of World Records had a category for lies, Arvind Kejriwal would win without any competition. Kejriwal said he quit because Jan lokpal Bill was not being passed in the Assembly. Congress was in support of every bill which is against corruption provided it comes through constitutional procedures. Yet he resigned as he is eyeing on the upcoming lok Sabha polls.” The only sore factor was that only three Congress MlAs namely; Arvinder Singh lovely, Haroon Yusuf and Asif Mohammad Khan were present in the rally along with general secretary in-charge Shakeel Ahmad and South Delhi MP Ramesh Kumar.
Talking about the campaign, he said, “We have launched this movement for the people of Delhi and the country. We want to bring out the truth of a CM who not only made false promises before elections but also left them midway after assuming power.” launching a scathing attack on AAP, he said, “Huge promises were made about providing free water, cheaper electricity and regularizing 4.5 lakh contractual Government employees, but AAP delivered on none.” Calling Kejriwal selfish he further said, “When Kejriwal left the chair, he didn’t bother if the budget of Delhi was passed, if government employees got salaries, if subsidy was provided. He was not worried about people of Delhi, instead he was only concerned about the lok Sabha elections and to escape the responsibilities of Delhi.”
It was not only Kejriwal and his AAP that the Congress leaders took a dig at. lovely also lashed out at BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi calling him Feku (braggart) and then went on to compare him with Kejriwal on the issue of ‘false promises’. “The country was already distraught with a Feku from the BJP. As if he was not enough alone, now Kejriwal is proving to beat even him in terms of lies,” lovely said. Not just Modi, the Delhi Congress also hit out at the Delhi BJP and accused them of being involved in rampant corruption at municipal level.
He further criticised the AAP chief of having the ‘dangerous’ habit of abandoning people. “First he left a Government job; he also left Kiran Bedi, Anna Hazare, old colleagues, then Delhi Government and now Delhi. I am worried that he may leave India soon,” said a caustic lovely.
Speaking at the event, Congress State unit in-charge Shakeel Ahmad said that Congress’ rule of the last 15 years under Sheila Dikshit’s Government was development oriented and that, unlike the AAP, it never practiced the politics of lies and deceits. “We cannot lie and we cannot present truth in different lights. We lack these qualities of AAP. We lost to people who deal in lies. They are not someone who work to deliver, they only lie and deceive. Kejriwal made a scapegoat of the people of Delhi only to pursue his larger political ambitions,” said Ahmed while adding that Congress members should refrain from making any promises which they cannot fulfil.
Senior Congress leader and former State Power Minister, Haroon Yusuf, raised a question mark over AAP’s intention to get Bills against corruption passed and said that his party provided support to them on the condition that AAP would fulfil its promises made to the people. The State unit also announced that as part of the campaign, a committee will be constituted to “examine the anti-people, unconstitutional and unlawful decisions” allegedly taken by the Kejriwal Government during its rather shortlived tenure. Talking about the lok Sabha polls preparations, lovely said, “While this Abhiyan marks the beginning of our campaign for the general elections, we are also going to hold district-wise conventions, among other measures to gear up for the electoral battle ahead.”