The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had promised statehood to Delhi during elections and they should announce it now, said Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken on Monday.
“However announcing the statehood is not an easy matter as it is the capital of India. The issue must be handled sensitively,” Mr. Maken said at a press conference here. Taunting Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejariwal, Mr. Maken said political parties must think before they raise populist demands.
“Several important institutes such as Delhi University, police forces are funded by the central government. One must think about tax payers too,” he said, remaining evasive over his position on the issue.
Earlier, Mr. Maken claimed that under the Modi’s leadership, the country had witnessed a total decline in the economy.
“The prices of food grain are rising. The exports have fallen by over 11%. The increases in petrol prices and service tax have impacted the people tremendously,” he said. BJP’s poll promises have never been completed, he added.
On Rafale deal
Attacking the government over the Rafale Fighter Jet deal with France, Mr. Maken said the UPA government envisaged sale of only 18 aircrafts from France and production of remaining 108 by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) through a transfer of Technology Agreement.
“Modi government bypassed the established defence procurement procedure and defence acquisition council to unilaterally order 36 Rafale Aircrafts with no clarity on their production in India. It just turned Make in India to Make in France,” he said
Net Neutrality
On the issue of Net Neutrality, Mr. Maken said the government had announced a committee to look in to the matter. “This committee was supposed to give its report by the end of first week of May and there are no signs of report coming soon,” he said.
The Congress also hit out at the claims of giving non-corrupt government. “Several key appointments in the administration such as CIC, CVC are pending. Let the CAG report come out and we will know the truth,” he said.
Focusing on the issue of amendments in the Real Estate Regulatory Authority bill, the Congress leader said that the Modi government was attempting to favour the builders instead of buyers by changing the previous government’s draft of the bill.
“Our leader Rahul Gandhi too has taken the issue up and we will oppose any possible anti-people move by the government,” he said.
