Hitting out at the BJP and the Congress for taking a U-turn on the issue, the Aam Aadmi Party said on Saturday that it would launch a public campaign on the demand for full statehood for Delhi.
AAP sources said party convenor and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was likely to hold a meeting on Sunday with MLAs and party office-bearers to plan out the campaign.
Since Wednesday, the Delhi Assembly has been in session with the aim of discussing and passing a resolution seeking the status of a full State for Delhi. While the Opposition BJP has questioned the Aam Aadmi Party government’s decision to rake up the issue in the House, the Delhi Congress, which does not have any MLAs, had also hit out at the AAP’s resolution.
Manifesto promise
Referring to the Opposition BJP and Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken’s statements this week, AAP Delhi convenor and Delhi Minister Gopal Rai said both parties had taken a “U-turn” from their publicly stated positions and manifesto promises of making Delhi a full State.
He said it was beyond understanding how a promise made by BJP leaders, including former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had been discarded by the present BJP leadership. He added that the Congress too had forgotten the promise of full statehood made by its leaders in the past.
In order to take the message to the public, the AAP said the issue would be taken to every household in Delhi and a campaign would be unveiled soon.