‘If you don’t act against Maken within 24 hours…’: AAP’s ultimatum to Congress pushes INDIA bloc to brink

On the eve of the parliamentary elections in Delhi, a fierce political struggle broke out between the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The AAP on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Congress, alleging that the party is colluding with the BJP to undermine the AAP in the upcoming assembly elections.

Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh accused Congress leaders Ajay Maken and Sandeep Dixit of targeting AAP instead of focusing on BJP. “Ajay Maken crossed all limits by calling Arvind Kejriwal anti-national. Despite campaigning for the Congress in the last elections, Kejriwal is now facing an FIR, while the Congress has never filed a single FIR against any BJP leader,” Singh said.

AAP leaders alleged that the Congress’ actions were undermining the unity of the INDIA bloc. “We did not say a single word against the Congress during the Haryana elections. However, the Congress seems to be reading the BJP’s script. His list of candidates looks like it was finalized in the BJP office,” Singh said.

Atishi echoed similar sentiments, saying the Congress was actively undermining the AAP. “It is clear that Congress candidates like Sandeep Dixit and Farhad Suri are getting support from the BJP. This conspiracy raises doubts about the commitment of the Congress to the alliance with INDIA,” she said.

The AAP has now demanded that the Congress take disciplinary action against Maken and other party leaders within 24 hours. Failure to act, according to the AAP, will push the Congress out of the INDIA alliance. “We will ask the other parties in the alliance to remove the Congress,” Singh said.

Atishi also accused the Congress of colluding with the BJP for the Delhi elections. “Yesterday Ajay Maken said that Arvind Kejriwal is anti-national. I want to ask the Congress party whether they have ever leveled the same allegations against any BJP leader. No. But today the Congress is accusing Arvind Kejriwal of being anti-national,” she said.

The Delhi CM also mentioned that the Congress had lodged an FIR against her and Arvind Kejriwal. “Why? Has Congress ever lodged an FIR against any BJP leader? We have found through reliable sources that the election expenses of Congress candidates are coming from BJP. BJP funds Congress candidates. We have heard that Sandeep Dixit is receiving funding from the BJP, Atishi claimed.

“If the Congress thinks we (AAP) are anti-national, then why did they contest the Lok Sabha elections in alliance with us? It is clear that Congress leaders have reached some understanding with BJP to defeat AAP and make BJP win in Delhi. If. there is no understanding between Congress and BJP, then they should take action against Ajay Maken within 24 hours,” she said.

On Thursday, Congress leader Sandeep Dixit lodged a complaint with the Delhi Lieutenant Governor against AAP’s proposed scheme of paying Rs 2,100 per month to women. The day before, the Youth Congress had filed a complaint against Kejriwal, alleging that he had misled the voters of Delhi. The complaint, filed at the Parliament Street police station, accused the AAP of collecting sensitive personal data, including voter ID and phone numbers, for the schemes.

The Youth Congress complaint alleged that while the AAP had promised monthly assistance to women under the Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana, the Delhi government’s Department of Women and Child Development had publicly distanced itself from the initiative, clarifying that no such scheme existed. “This clearly establishes that the Aam Aadmi Party is involved in fraud, thereby violating the trust of the people of Delhi,” the Youth Congress complaint said.

Under the scheme, Kejriwal has promised to increase women’s allowance from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,100 if AAP wins the upcoming assembly elections. However, the Delhi government’s women and child development department issued public notices dissociating itself from the scheme promised by AAP and saying that no such scheme exists.

The Delhi Assembly elections are due in February.