Don’t let historic opportunity go waste, Jaitley tells AAP

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said it should fulfil the promises made to the people of Delhi and not fritter away the opportunity with its "immature" politics.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley addresses a press conference in Varanasi on Saturday.

With the Aam Aadmi Party mired in a bitter internal feud, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said it should fulfil the promises made to the people of Delhi and not fritter away the opportunity with its “immature” politics.

He said people of Delhi had high hopes when they voted for Arvind Kejriwal government and he never expected “such politics” to emerge.

“This new kind of politics which has emerged wherein when a politician talks, the conversation is recorded. Well! I never expected this kind of politics,” Mr. Jaitley said at a press conference.

He was replying to queries related to the turmoil in Aam Aadmi Party and the alleged taped conversation of AAP chief Arvind Kejrial in a sting operation in which he is heard purportedly using expletives against dissident leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan and even threatening to form a new party.

Mr. Jaitley said that AAP should fulfil the promises that it had made to the people of Delhi during the assembly election.

“With a lot of expectation and high hopes, people of Delhi had chosen the government. The promises which AAP and its leaders have made with public, they must fulfil them,” said Mr. Jaitley, adding that “they should not let this historical opportunity go waste just because of their immature politics.” The BJP leader along with spiritual guru Morari Babu today dedicated to public two steam boats that will ferry dead bodies to the cremation ghats of Varanasi without any charge.

Allegations "extremely serious“

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said it is the people of Delhi who are suffering the most due to the AAP’s internal turmoil.

“First AAP should set its house in order and start delivering in Delhi. That is our concern, Delhi citizens’ concern and Delhi community’s concern. And this kind of laundering goes on in open spectacle every day... then I think Delhi is the biggest sufferer,” Singhvi said, adding the allegations and counter allegations by rival factions in AAP are “extremely serious“.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah took a dig at the AAP saying it was becoming more like “older parties“.

He tweeted:

To think that commentators were actually advising older political parties to be more like >#AAP seems >#AAP has decided to be more like us :-)

— Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) >March 28, 2015