The Hindu : New Delhi News : BSP presence will do no harm: Congress

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BSP presence will do no harm: Congress

Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

Party committed to development of Delhi, says DPCC chief

Photo: Sandeep Saxena

Planning strategy: Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit with Pradesh Congress chief Jai Prakash Agarwal and party candidates at a get together in New Delhi on Saturday.

NEW DELHI: Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president J. P. Agarwal on Saturday organised an interaction over lunch for media persons with all the party candidates for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit was also present on the occasion.

Mr. Agarwal said the Congress was fighting the elections on the development plank as it had always been committed to the development of Delhi and the social well-being of the people. “On the other hand,” he said, “the BJP has been harping on communalism and negativity as its election agenda and development is not an issue for it.”

The DPCC president said the candidates had been selected with an eye on keeping the development work going and only those candidates were given the party ticket who either ensured the development of their constituencies or were keen to have it done.

As for the Bahujan Samaj Party, he said, it had no political or social standing in Delhi and the Congress was least bothered about the presence of its candidates in the elections. “If any political party would suffer on account of the presence of the BSP in the Assembly election fray, it would be the BJP,” he said.

Mr. Agarwal charged that the BJP leadership was scared of the massive development works carried out by the Congress Government over the past 10 year in Delhi and this was why it was threatening to break down the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor that provides the right of way to all sections of commuters, including cyclists and pedestrians.

On the issue of price rise, Mr. Agarwal said that it was a global phenomenon and India was feeling the least of its impact. “The rate of inflation has now come down to single-digit,” he said, “and this shows that the prices of all the commodities are on their way down now.”

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