On the day 20 former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs challenged their disqualification for holding an office of profit in the Delhi High Court, party leader and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday accused the BJP of playing “dirty politics” in order to “derail” the AAP government.
In an interview to The Hindu, Mr. Sisodia said: “They [the BJP] used the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Central government’s powers, the Lieutenant-Governor, but the work is still happening.”
By-elections
He added that though he was “100% confident” of the 20 ex-MLAs receiving relief from the courts, if bypolls were to be held for the 20 constituencies, the BJP would not win. “If the BJP goes to ask for votes, people will throw shoes at them. Their goal is not to win, they can’t win, but to derail our work,” said Mr. Sisodia.
He said that the BJP-ruled States had not been able to prevent the increase in power tariffs, which the AAP government had done.
In addition, the Delhi government had “reformed” the healthcare system, increased the number of schools — as opposed to the BJP-ruled States that had “become known for closure of government schools” — and ensured affordable or free water.
“They [the BJP] think that if the people of Delhi get these kind of benefits, then the rest of the country will also demand it. The third and fourth years are very important for a government. We laid the foundation for many projects in the first and second year and the third year saw tenders being floated and the work start,” he said.
Delay in projects
Mr. Sisodia said if bypolls to the 20 seats were to be held, followed by Lok Sabha elections in 2019, many important projects like the installation of CCTV cameras, opening of schools of excellence, doorstep delivery of services and Wi-Fi would be put on hold on account of the model code of conduct.
Talking about the Election Commission’s (EC) disqualification of the MLAs for holding an office of profit, Mr. Sisodia said there was no office of profit as the MLAs as parliamentary secretaries did not get any pecuniary benefits.
“Why was the EC trying to cheat the people of Delhi through the back door?...It’s not about the EC, it about the BJP. They knew that the order [appointing the parliamentary secretaries] made it clear there is no office of profit,” he said.
Also on Tuesday, the AAP held press conferences to counter the allegations against the MLAs. AAP Rajya Sabha MP-elect Sanjay Singh said the EC had said in its June 23, 2017 communication that the MLAs would be invited for a hearing.
AAP national spokesperson Raghav Chadha said, “The disqualification of 20 MLAs of the AAP is further evidence of the fact that the Narendra Modi government has been conspiring against the AAP. This is the first time in the history of the country that any judicial or quasi-judicial body has delivered a verdict without hearing the arguments of the accused.”
