Criticising the Opposition — BJP and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) — for making tall promises to mislead people, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Sunday said that if a wrong decision was taken and the Congress was “defeated”, the entire nation will suffer the consequences.
Cautioning people in a rally at Shastri Park in North-East Delhi, Dikshit said, “Delhi’s development speed should not be hampered. Delhi is marching ahead. If we take a wrong decision, weakened the Congress Government or defeated it, not only the Capital but the entire country will have to face its consequences...Delhi is the national Capital. What happens in Delhi first, takes place in the country later.”
As the BJP and its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi keeps up with “Congress-free India” line, Dikshit said, “No other party tells you what it wants to do for Delhi, what is its plan but its only slogan is remove the Congress; and the Congress has always been keeping its words. The Chief Minister called upon people to take a judicious decision to vote the Congress party. AICC general secretary and in-charge of Delhi affairs Shakeel Ahmed, Delhi Congress president and area MP JP Aggarwal, East Delhi MP Sandeep Dikshit and all 20 Congress candidates of East and North-East district were present at the rally.
Addressing the rally, Dikshit made a strong pitch for a single command system for Delhi to end multiplicity of authorities and demanded Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s intervention to “end city’s woes”. Sonia Gandhi was the main speaker at the rally and present on the dais when Dikshit made the remarks addressing her.
Citing multiplicity of authorities as a major hurdle in development of Delhi, Dikshit said that it is a request that whether we get full statehood or not. “We want single command system in Delhi, so that we don’t have to run from one department or ministry to the other to get things done. This hampers the development and growth of the city,” Dikshit said. A month back, Dikshit had made the same request to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi at a rally in Mangolpuri. Urging Rahul Gandhi to solve the issue, Dikshit had said the multiplicity of commands caused confusion and delayed developmental work.
Dikshit also sought Sonia’s assistance in developing a common economic and development zone in Delhi-NCR. “Every year five lakh people come to the national Capital in search of jobs. We have limited land. There is need to develop the NCR, especially Noida and Gurgaon, and form a common economic and development zone, for overall development. If that happens we will become the most progressive and the most prosperous State of North India,” said Dikshit.
Reminding overwhelming crowd at the rally of developmental works carried out by her Government, Dikshit warned them “to not fall in any trap of the Opposition parties, BJP and AAP.” Delhi’s progress should not stop. Any wrong decision to make the Congress weaker or remove the ruling party, will not only hamper city’s growth, but also create problems for the whole country.
“It is not an ordinary city, but the Capital of India. Beware, do not fall into any trap. They (Opposition parties) have not uttered a word how they will work for the development of the Capital,” Dikshit said. Dikshit stated in brief the achievements of her Government and the promises included in the party manifesto.
Talking about the works done by her Government, Dikshit cited examples of the Metro Rail, increased number of flyovers during the past 15 years and the ladli scheme for girls. “Compare what the city was 15 years back with what it is today. You will see a drastic change. It is a city of development. It is the city of best facilities, best health services and best education. “It has the best Metro and bus facilities. It is the city of our girls and our ladli. It’s the city of Congress’ efforts of 15 years,” Dikshit said. She said there are figures which indicate that Delhi is one of the most prosperous States in India. “There are four crore mobile phones in Delhi for a population of 1.7 crore. All these reflect the path of development and progress we are following,” she said.
Dikshit further said that Delhi is the best city in terms of development, electrification, road connectivity and other parameters, while Dikshit’s son and party MP Sandeep Dikshit said that nobody talks about what the scene of Delhi was between 1993 and 1998, when BJP ruled the State. Shakeel Ahmed, Arvinder Singh lovely and Jai Prakash Aggarwal and all Congress candidates spoke on the occasion.