Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta said party volunteers will go to the wards with the message that the policy was intended to reduce revenue and increase liquor sales, and that there was massive corruption. (File)Starting Wednesday, the BJP will step up its campaign against ‘corruption’ in the AAP-led Delhi government’s scrapped liquor policy and will hold jan chaupals in all the 70 Assembly constituencies in the Capital to discuss the issue, said senior leaders of the party.
This comes days after the CBI conducted searches at 31 locations, including the home of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, in connection with a case it has registered against him and several excise officers in the capital over alleged corruption in the rollout of the liquor policy.
Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta said party volunteers will go to the wards with the message that the policy was intended to reduce revenue and increase liquor sales, and that there was massive corruption. “Party workers are ready to campaign massively against the AAP’s corruption. We will go till the booth level,” said Gupta.
BJP general secretary Harsh Malhotra said the campaign will start from Patparganj, the home constituency of Sisodia, and will then be held in other Vidhan Sabhas. “So far, the discussion on ‘corruption’ of the Kejriwal government was limited to media debates, but now, the BJP has decided to take it up with the people,” he said.
Subscriber Only Stories
Senior leaders in the BJP said the campaign against the AAP is being closely monitored by the central leadership. A senior leader said the BJP’s Delhi unit has received clear instructions from the top to reformulate its communication strategy and build a narrative against the AAP, something it has failed to do in recent times.
Taking advantage of what it sees as a chink in the AAP’s armour, senior BJP leaders said they are readying to hit where it would hurt the AAP the most—the ruling party’s plank of being born out of an anti-corruption movement and its projection as an honest party. To this end, BJP spokesperson Harish Khurana said posters on the “AAP’s corruption” were being put up across the Capital.
The state unit has also been instructed to stick to attacking the AAP over the liquor policy and not get into a debate on the public education system in the national capital. “We have been exposing them over education in the past… But as of now, we want answers on the liquor policy… Hum puch rahe pitaji ka kya naam hai aur wo bata rahe mere dadaji ka ye naam hai (It is like I am asking them about their father’s name, and they are giving their grandfather’s name),” said BJP MP Manoj Tiwari.