The Hindu : New Delhi News : BJP, Congress trade charges ahead of polls

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Wednesday, May 14, 2008
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New Delhi

BJP, Congress trade charges ahead of polls

Staff Reporter

Both the parties bring their candidates for the Delhi Cantonment Board together before the media

Photos: V. Sudershan & Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

Set for the battle of the ballot: BJP candidates for the Delhi Cantonment Board with party leaders Harsh Vardhan and V. K. Malhotra (left) and (right) DPCC president J. P. Agarwal with the Congress candidates at press conferences in New Delhi on Tuesday.

NEW DELHI: With just five days to go for elections to the Delhi Cantonment Board, the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party leaders traded charges at their respective press conferences organised on Tuesday to bring their party candidates together before the media. Each party accused the other of neglecting the local residents and for the various problems afflicting it.

The BJP leaders at their press conference claimed that the results of the Delhi Cantonment Board elections would also be a mandate for the Congress governments at the Centre and in Delhi. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, who is also the Member of Parliament from South Delhi, and Delhi BJP president Harsh Vardhan said “bad policies” of the Congress were responsible for the massive rise in prices of all commodities and inflation that the people were now facing.

Other issues that could prove decisive in the Board elections were black-marketing of goods, severe scarcity of power and water, corruption, lack of development and neglect of the interests of the soldiers, they said.

Holding the Congress responsible for all these problems, the BJP leaders exuded confidence that they would sweep the polls.

Prof. Malhotra also accused the Congress of openly violating the election code of conduct and adopting intimidating tactics and setting the BJP election office on fire. Moreover, he charged, the Defence personnel had been discriminated against in the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations.

Dr. Vardhan spoke about rising insecurity and infiltration on the Pakistan border during Congress rule. At a micro level, he said, the 3.5 lakh citizens of Delhi Cantonment were living in pathetic conditions bereft of basic amenities like power, water and transport.

Also, he charged, an “unjustified” 12 per cent VAT was being charged on essential commodities being sold to the soldiers in the Army canteens.

The BJP MLA from Delhi Cantonment, Karan Singh Tanwar, accused the Congress of postponing the elections of the Cantonment Board for the past 10 years to avoid defeat. He also accused the party of neglecting development in the area and claimed that he had himself pledged Rs.3 crore from his MLA fund.

Later the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president J. P. Agarwal replied to each and every charge levelled by the BJP. He said the Congress was focusing on the failure of the local MLA, Mr Tanwar, to ensure development in the area. “The BJP MLA should be asked to furnish the details of the Rs.3 crore pledged by him for works in the area. This is nothing but a sham ahead of the polls and he does not have even a single budget slip to show as proof of work undertaken in the past four years by him,” Mr. Agarwal charged.

Mr. Agarwal also pooh-poohed Prof. Malhotra’s charge of the Congress resorting to wrong practices saying this just showed the desperation of the BJP ahead of the polls: “They are staring at a loss and have no real issue to speak about.”

About the pay scale for soldiers, he said the DPCC had written to the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister had assured that their interests would be protected. Also, he accused the BJP of not doing anything for the welfare of the soldiers during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s six-year rule at the Centre.

As for the levy of 12 per cent VAT, the DPCC president questioned Dr. Vardhan’s assertion saying all essential items in Defence canteens only invite 4 per cent VAT. He also declared that the DPCC had written to Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit to demand a higher award money for soldiers on the lines of Haryana.

On the other hand, he reminded the BJP of the “coffin scam” and quipped that it showed how much the BJP really cared for the Defence personnel.

Mr. Agarwal appealed to the people to vote the Congress to power in the Cantonment Board and claimed that all the party candidates chosen by him were ground level workers with a high sense of integrity and were therefore committed to development of the area.

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