While the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government basks in its achievements of the past one year, former party ideologue and founder of Swaraj Abhiyan, Yogendra Yadav, expressed his shock over the “explicit change in the fabric” of the Arvind Kejriwal led government.
Speaking to The Hindu , Mr Yadav asserted that the government has “betrayed” the people of Delhi in terms of hopes and aspirations that were given to them in a run-up to the 2015 Assembly elections. Pointing to the full page advertisements appearing in all the major newspapers which highlight the AAP government’s achievements so far, he said, “It is a big let down for city dwellers as the party is turning out to be just like the Congress or the BJP. The surrogate ads which began from February 14 and are continuing till now are the biggest example. If we assume the ads are by the Delhi government, why do they have the Chief Minister’s pictures and the party’s name? They flout the Supreme Court’s orders.”
He also charged the government with doublespeak over the issue of corruption which has been the USP of the party. “Why does it not surprise people any more whenever a video or audio clip of some AAP MLAs engaging in corrupt practices surfaces?” was the rhetoric made by him on the latest controversy surrounding environment minister Imran Hussain.
A noted psephologist, Mr Yadav informed that the volunteers of Swaraj Abhiyan carried out a survey to gauge the mood of the public on AAP government’s one year. “Some of the questions in the survey applied to all sections of the society and most of these responses have been negative. It is not surprising as key poll promises like the Jan Lokpal Bill were completely changed behind people’s backs and never even took off for that matter,” he said. However, he also maintained that the survey was not particularly a scientific one as it didn’t have sample selection because of which some responses might appear to be accentuated.
The survey indicated that 86.2 per cent people believed the promise of Jan Lokpal remains unfulfilled, whereas, 84.9 per cent said development works in their constituencies were not happening through Moholla Sabhas. On free wi-fi in public places, 89.2 per cent Delhiites said they have not been able to access it. The aim of the survey, covering over 10,000 city dwellers across 70 constituencies, was to remind people about the 70-point promises made by the AAP during Assembly polls and how much of it has been achieved so far, said Anupam, member of the national working committee of Swaraj Abhiyan.
Yadav also charged the government with doublespeak over the issue of corruption which has been the USP of the party
