Delhi Assembly polls: AAP threatens INDIA bloc split over Congress leader Ajay Maken's anti-Kejriwal remarks
New Delhi: In a major setback to Opposition unity, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) threatened to urge the INDIA alliance to expel Congress if the party fails to act against its Delhi leader, Ajay Maken, media reports said.
Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh accused Congress of aiding the BJP ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections scheduled for February.
“Congress is doing everything to ensure the BJP benefits in the election. Ajay Maken follows the BJP's script, targets AAP leaders, and yesterday called our leader Arvind Kejriwal anti-national,” Sanjay Singh stated, adding that neither Congress nor Maken has ever levelled similar allegations against BJP leaders in Delhi, reported NDTV.
दिल्ली में कांग्रेस के उम्मीदवारों की फ़ंडिंग👇
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) December 26, 2024
कांग्रेस द्वारा ❌
BJP द्वारा ✅ pic.twitter.com/Af0UUS37sT
The dispute emerges months after AAP and Congress joined forces for the Lok Sabha polls in Delhi but failed to win any of the seven seats, which the BJP swept.
Singh highlighted AAP’s previous support for Congress, noting, “Arvind Kejriwal campaigned for Congress in Delhi and Chandigarh. We stand with Congress in Parliament, yet they call our leader anti-national and file FIRs against him.”
Singh also referred to AAP’s failed attempts to ally with Congress in the Haryana Assembly polls, asserting that despite the lack of collaboration, AAP refrained from criticising Congress.
“Ajay Maken has crossed all limits. We demand Congress act against him within 24 hours, or we will ask INDIA alliance partners to remove Congress from the bloc,” he warned, according to the NDTV report.
Chief Minister Atishi accused Congress of colluding with BJP for the upcoming Delhi polls.
“Congress has never filed a police complaint against BJP but does so against AAP leaders. Their actions clearly show they’ve tied up with BJP,” she alleged.
The tensions escalated after Delhi Congress released a 12-point “white paper” criticising both AAP and BJP for mismanagement of pollution, civic amenities, and law and order.
Addressing the media, Ajay Maken accused AAP of failing to deliver on its anti-corruption promises.
“If there’s one word to describe Arvind Kejriwal, it’s Farziwal,” Maken remarked, labelling Kejriwal the “king of fraud” and presenting the “white paper” on AAP and BJP governance, according to the report.
Despite their alliance at the national level, AAP and Congress remain bitter rivals in Delhi and Punjab.
AAP had unseated Congress in Delhi in 2013, ending the latter’s 15-year rule under former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.
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