Not one to roll with the punches and eyeing to wrest the prestigious New Delhi parliamentary seat from her Congress rival Ajay Maken, BJP candidate Meenakshi lekhi has come up with her panchnama. Taking on her opponent over the five core issues of safety, housing, employment, clean drinking water and electricity, lekhi has promised them viable solutions if voted to power. The panchnama is part of her vision document or manifesto for development of the New Delhi constituency which, she said, lacks basic amenities.
As lekhi pointed out, the panchnama is also a chargesheet against the Congress MP who failed on all fronts despite being a powerful Minister in the Union Cabinet. “I have prepared a report based on my first-hand experience of the state of affairs in the New Delhi constituency. It is much similar to the panchnama prepared by police in any case,” lekhi said. She has also suggested constituent solution to these problems. lekhi also attacked the Aam Aadmi Party and accused its leaders of misleading the people of Delhi in the name of power and water tariff. She termed the party a ‘B-team’ of Congress and said its leaders were all out to benefit Congress in the lok Sabha polls.
Terming the Congress leaders ‘visionless’ and ‘indifferent’ to public woes, the BJP leader said each locality falling under the New Delhi lok Sabha seat was suffering from a peculiar problem. While over three dozen villages in New Delhi are yet to get proper water and power connections, the posh localities like Greater Kailash, Malviya Nagar and Hauz Khas are too congested. For lekhi, the pitiable condition of people living in slums in these areas is the biggest cause of worry. “The issues are wide-ranging in New Delhi. It is shameful that the New Delhi constituency is house to over a dozen slums where people are forced to live in a pitiable state even after 67 years of Independence. Some of these slums exist in the heart of then city but the public representatives do not have time to care for them. The condition of villages in New Delhi is no different. People in these localities crave for basic amenities like water and power connection,” lekhi said.
As she rakes up these vital issues, she is reciprocated by huge public support particularly in villages. On Saturday, lekhi campaigned extensively in several posh New Delhi colonies like Greater Kailash, Malviya Nagar, Hauz Khas, East of Kailash, Defence Colony, Delhi Cantonment and RK Puram. Here she was greeted by hundreds of locals and supporters during her road shows and padyatras. In these colonies, lekhi promised them adequate safety as well as an effective decongestion plan. Similarly in areas like Karmpura, Patel Nagar and jhuggis in the adjoining areas, she said their housing needs along with adequate water and power needs will be addressed. “I have promised improvement of urbanised slums and villages. Apart from water and power, proper accommodation will be provided to them. The ever-increasing pressure on existing infrastructure will be eased. Appropriate utilisation of MPlAD fund will be ensured,” lekhi said.