At one of his biggest public meetings since he was declared the face of the Congress' campaign in poll-bound Delhi, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Ajay Maken attacked the very foundation of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in northwest Delhi's Inderlok on Sunday.
Demographically a minority-dominated area that includes large tracts of resettlement colonies which had chosen the AAP over both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during last year's Assembly polls, the meeting was attended by an estimated 2000 local residents.
“They (the BJP) talks of a Congress-free India,” Mr. Maken said in an indirect reference to the poll pitch raised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi prior to his triumphant win in last year's Lok Sabha polls.
“It doesn't matter to the Congress because before the BJP was even born, the British had the same wish which was thwarted by the party and they were chucked out of the country just like we will make the BJP exit the political race this year,” Mr. Maken added.
The grand old party's candidate from the Sadar Bazar Assembly then directly took on both his arch political rivals – the BJP's CM candidate Kiran Bedi and Mr. Kejriwal – by alleging that their opportunism had taken them far away from the India Against Corruption (IAC) Movement which was but a movement not against corruption but the Congress party.
Mr. Maken claimed that both the BJP and the AAP's CM candidates had formed a tacit pact to keep the Congress out of power which would give an immense push to 'fundamentalist organisations' acorss the country.
“Both Ms. Bedi and Mr. Kejriwal were members of Team Anna and claimed to be against all forms of corruption; but why did the former then join the BJP? Doesn't ging back on one's word, saying that one is against all political parties and then joining one such party translate as corruption of thought and action?” Mr. Maken asked.
“Just like Ms. Bedi, I have no dubt Mr. Kejriwal too will jin the BJP very soon. In fact, it is a well-known fact that the latter had depended heavily on the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to make inroads into the BJP. The VHP was distributing food and sustaining attendees of Anna Hazare's fast at the Ramlila Maidan,” he added.
