Delhi will finally get its voice in Parliament: Rai

Says this will end ‘stepbrotherly’ treatment to govt by Centre

The three Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) nominees — Sanjay Singh, Sushil Gupta and Narain Dass Gupta — who were elected as Rajya Sabha MPs reached the party office at Rouse Avenue to the beats of drums and scores of supporters cheering for them and distributing sweets.

AAP’s Delhi convener Gopal Rai congratulated the three newly elected MPs and said that after three years, Delhi will finally get its voice in the Parliament through these representatives.

‘Hindrances by Centre’

“At present, Delhi feels orphaned at the Rajya Sabha. After three years of being in power we have got a chance to send our candidates in the Upper House but we still have two years of the government in Delhi and we will make the most of this chance,” Mr. Rai said.

He said he hoped that with three of Delhi’s MPs to voice the problems faced by the people, the hindrances that have allegedly been caused by the Centre to the functioning of the Delhi government will be reduced.

Speaking to the media after receiving his election certificate, Mr. Singh thanked the party, its functionaries and especially the volunteers whose blessings led to his election in the parliament.

“The step brotherly treatment meted out to the Delhi government by the Centre might change with three of us being there,” he said.

Farmer suicides

He also said that a few issues that they plan to raise in the House are the problems being faced by the people of Delhi, along with farmer suicides across the country and loan waivers promised to them, and the growing issue of unemployment among the youth of the country.

Mr. Narain Dass Gupta, against whose nomination the Congress filed a complaint, said that the Rajya Sabha will be a platform to table the issues of the people of the city nationally. He said that he will work towards fulfilling the responsibility entrusted to him by the party with utmost sincerity

Mr. Sushil Gupta, whose nomination was also questioned with allegations floating that he is a “parachute candidate” from the Congress, said that the Delhi government has been doing a lot of work in the fields of education and health and he will concentrate on bringing issues relating these sectors to the fore. “A problem that Delhi is facing at the moment is the multiplicity of agencies, which do not report to the Delhi government, making work difficult here,” he said.