The Aam Aadmi Party’s candidate for the South Delhi constituency, Raghav Chadha, on Tuesday, stressed on the acute water shortage issue in the Lok Sabha segment at a public gathering in Saket, where he was joined by actors Prakash Raj and Gul Panag.

“Look at the water shortage in South Delhi assembly segments such as Sangam Vihar, Deoli, Bijwasan, Mehrauli and Palam… It is a matter of shame that even in 2019, something as basic as access to water, continues to be an issue in the general elections,” said Chadha, training his guns on both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress for their alleged failure in resolving water woes of South Delhi residents.

In her first campaign in Delhi this year, Panag emphasised on the importance of social justice and equal opportunities when it comes to access to quality education and healthcare.

“It is good to work hard on satellites, defence technology and space technology. But, no amount of development in these fields can compensate for lack of basic amenities, such as water,” she said.

Panag later joined Chadha in a motorbike rally in the Kalkaji assembly segment.

In Tuesday’s public gathering, Raj criticised the BJP. He said, “The party has used every possible way to divert the attention of voters from real issues of jobs, farmers’ distress, education and basic facilities, such as water.”

Many activists, academics and students leaders from the University of Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru University had come in support of Chadha to the public gathering, held under the banner of Young India Event at Anupam Complex in Delhi’s Saket.

Addressing a crowd of more than 100 persons in the public gathering, Chadha stressed the crucial role that caste and regional identity play in South Delhi.

“I understand such concerns, but people, this year, will vote on the basis of work done and not caste and religion… One must remember that none of the politicians who came to power using caste and religious identities succeeded in ensuring something as basic as adequate water access to residents in most parts of South Delhi,” he said.

First Published: May 08, 2019 05:30 IST