Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Saturday challenged the Opposition parties, both BJP and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), to either prove the graft charges or stop making baseless and false allegations against her Government.
Rejecting BJP and AAP’s allegations of “widespread corruption” in her Government, Dikshit challenged them to provide “proof” of their charges and accused the two parties of misleading people in order to win the Assembly polls. In a scathing attack on BJP and AAP, Dikshit said neither party had an alternative agenda for the Capital’s development and exuded confidence for a fourth straight victory in the December 4 electoral battle.
“Both BJP and AAP have been defaming us by alleging that there has been corruption in our Government. If you have come across cases of corruption, then please tell us where the corruption is. Nobody becomes corrupt if you keep repeating the charges. I challenge them to give us proof of graft. We will take action,” she said.
Dikshit was speaking at a media briefing along with Delhi Congress president Jai Prakash Agarwal and AICC General Secretary in-charge of Delhi, Shakeel Ahmed. Alleging that both BJP and AAP were trying to mislead people on a number of issues for electoral gain, the Chief Minister said they were yet to come out with their own “policies and vision” for the city. The 75-year-old Dikshit said Congress was going to the polls with “confidence and conviction” as people of Delhi were well aware of her Government’s performance. “I am certain that the Congress will win the Delhi Assembly elections for the fourth time. We have changed the face of Delhi — 24 universities, Metro, flyovers... We don’t need to remind you of development under our Government. The party manifesto will be released within 10 days,” she said.
On BJP’s promise of slashing power tariffs by 30 per cent if voted to power, Dikshit wondered how the party could have made such a promise and what the Opposition parties want to convey to the people of Delhi. She said that her Government had been giving subsidies to consumers.
“The power tariff in Delhi is the lowest in the country. The rates in Delhi are lower compared to Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. We have ensured round-the-clock power supply. But, at the same time, we felt there may be a burden (of higher bills) on citizens. That is why we decided to give subsidies to 78 per cent of the consumers,” Dikshit said.
Speaking on the occasion, Agarwal said the Delhi Government had worked hard to ensure development in the city. “Our Government has worked very sincerely... We complete projects. That is why we cut ribbons. Should we invite the BJP to cut ribbonsIJ They (BJP) see everything wrong here. Our Government has done enough for the city,” he said. Praising Dikshit’s performance, Agarwal, too, exuded confidence about a Congress victory in the December 4 polls.
Ahmed also said, “I assure you, we will cut ribbons in the future also, after winning the polls for the fourth time.” In his rally on September 29, BJP Prime Minister hopeful Narendra Modi had termed Dikshit a “ribbon-cutting Chief Minister”.