Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Friday said Union Home Minister Amit Shah is dangerous for the country’s peace as incidents of violence have increased manifold since he assumed office. The AAP leader also said an alternative to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has to be based on a programme, not political opportunism.
“There have been instances of firing at lawyers, students have been beaten up, professors manhandled. The government, which was sympathetic towards Muslim women during the triple talaq debate, is not even talking to women at Shaheen Bagh. Crime in Delhi has peaked since the time he became India’s Home Minister,” Mr. Singh said, during an interaction with the media at the Mumbai Press Club.
“Look at the issues he has brought to the fore. The entire country’s attention is diverted to a non-issue like CAA instead of unemployment, lack of education, inflation, slowing economy. I wonder what his understanding is. He is a dangerous person for the country’s peace and for its law and order,” he said.
Asked about the party’s thumping victory in Delhi against the BJP despite the latter’s campaign with religious overtones and controversial statements, Mr. Singh said his party did not fall a prey to the BJP’s agenda. “The BJP is not good for India. The party does not want to work on anything except communal politics,” he said.
On whether the AAP can provide an alternative to the BJP across the country, Mr. Singh said the alternative can be raised based on programme, not political opportunism. “The Maha Vikas Aghadi government is formed on the basis of a common minimum programme, which is good. A similar thing has happened in Jharkhand. There should not be a repeat of what happened in Karnataka. Cases like Karnataka paint anti-BJP parties as political opportunists and it will only help the BJP,” he said.
Reiterating that AAP will be contesting the civic polls in Maharashtra, starting with the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, Mr. Singh said it will only concentrate on areas where there is a strong organisational build-up. “In 2014, we fought over 450 Lok Sabha seats but lost deposits in most. We have learnt our lesson. We will contest only where an organisational structure is being created,” he added.
The AAP leader welcomed Maharashtra Power Minister Nitin Raut’s statement that the government is thinking of giving 100 units of free power to consumers and said if asked, the Delhi government is ready to provide assistance.
