They should introspect their deeds: Congress on AAP asking it to clear stand on Delhi ordinance

The AAP leaders said that Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge had assured to make the party's stand clear 15 days before the monsoon session of Parliament that commences on July 20. But, the Congress claimed that no such assurance was ever given to AAP. A detailed report by ETV Bharat's Amit Agnihotri.

New Delhi: Congress on Monday accused the AAP of not doing what they preach and asked it to introspect its words and deeds in regard to opposition unity for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

“They (AAP) have to introspect what they are doing. Credibility in public life is very important. Their ground level activities and their preaching are all-together different like that of PM Narendra Modi. This is what they have to introspect. Ultimately, any party or person is judged by their actions and not by what they preach. From citizens to the political parties, all will judge you by your actions,” AICC in charge of Delhi Dipak Babaria told ETV Bharat.

The Congress veteran’s comment came days after AAP founder and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal claimed the grand old party had assured him that it will clear its stand on the Centre's ordinance for control of services in Delhi 15 days before the Monsoon Session of Parliament which commences on July 20. “So, we are waiting for the Congress' stand,” Kejriwal said last week.

Kejriwal has been mobilizing support from the various opposition parties urging them to defeat the ordinance in the monsoon session of Parliament. After the first mega opposition meeting in Patna on June 23, Kejriwal had stated that AAP would not attend the Bengaluru conclave till the Congress publicly opposed the ordinance.

According to Congress insiders, during the Patna meeting, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge had clearly told Kejriwal that the grand old party would discuss the ordinance with the other like-minded parties and finalise its stand when the monsoon session starts. They claimed that Kharge never gave any assurance of clearing the party stand over the ordinance 15 days before the monsoon session and the AAP was merely using pressure tactics. “They may be thinking it will be good for them” said Babaria.

Both Kharge and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had pointed out that the opposition meeting was to forge a national unity against the BJP for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and not to discuss the ordinance. A miffed Kharge had also told Kejriwal that AAP leaders had been making provocative remarks days ahead of the Patna meeting unnecessarily.

“Why such a hurry. They should first worry about the impact of rains in Delhi. A little patience is always good,” Congress media head Pawan Khera said.

According to Congress insiders, Kejriwal’s politics appeared to be puzzling for them. “On one hand, the AAP founder is talking about opposition unity against the BJP and on the other hand, he is launching campaigns in poll-bound Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh where the Congress appears to have an edge over the BJP. Since AAP has little presence in the states, it would eventually end up denting the Congress vote bank,” a senior AICC functionary said.

The Congress leader said that the move will indirectly help the BJP which does not appear to be strong in all three states. "AAP did a similar thing in Goa, Uttarakhand, Gujarat. They went to Karnataka also but scored even less than NOTA option votes. At the same time, they talk of opposition unity,” he added.