New Delhi: In a poll year, the Congress on Sunday slammed both the BJP and the AAP for playing the blame game over the shocking death of three UPSC aspirants, who drowned in the basement of a coaching institute. “The BJP and the AAP are engaged in a blame game over the shocking incident which shows the deaths happened due to negligence of the government and the MCD.
Unfortunately, bright children have lost their lives. We don’t want to do any politics over such a sensitive issue, but the people will seek answers from the authorities,” Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav told ETV Bharat.
The students, who protested the death of their classmates, alleged that flooding of the Rajender Nagar area in central Delhi happened after rains due to choked drains, which had not been cleaned for long despite several complaints to the authorities concerned.
The Congress leaders slammed the BJP as the saffron party had earlier controlled the MCD for 15 years before the AAP gained control over the civic agency in 2022. The grand old party blamed AAP for negligence as the INDIA bloc ally has been running the Delhi government since 2013.
“After AAP formed the government, they blamed the BJP for neglect of civic works as the saffron party ruled the MCD. However, the AAP has been running the MCD since 2022. They had promised before the monsoon arrived that there would be no flooding in Delhi, but it turned out to be hollow. Now this shocking incident has happened. So, who is responsible for the civic neglect now,” said Yadav.
“There is a nexus of corruption between the MCD and the big coaching institutes in that area. What else can explain the library being run by the coaching institute concerned in violation of rules right under the civic agency’s nose,” he said.
Incidentally, 2013 was the year when debutant AAP ended the 15-year consecutive rule of former Congress chief minister late Sheila Dikshit, who is still remembered for pushing development in the national capital.
Having been marginalised for years in the city and after the experiment of having a pre-poll alliance with the AAP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress is now trying hard to revive itself in Delhi ahead of the 2025 assembly polls.
“We will fight the coming elections on our own. The Congress has a presence across Delhi. We are now trying to revive the party by strengthening the organisation in all the districts. Soon, a membership drive will also be conducted. We will restore the glory of Delhi that was seen under the Sheila Dikshit government,” said Yadav.
Yadav is also the AICC in-charge of Punjab where the AAP came into power in 2022 by defeating the Congress. There was no alliance between the Congress and AAP in Punjab for the national polls.
AICC functionary Abhishek Dutt demanded a CBI probe into the funds that were spent in the name of cleaning drains in Delhi by the MCD and by the Delhi Jal Board which is responsible for drinking water supply.
“The drains have not been cleaned so where have the funds gone? Also, we recently saw how large parts of the city suffered due to a lack of drinking water supply. The water tanker mafia took advantage of the situation. I think the CBI should probe the matters,” Dutt told ETV Bharat.
“The BJP has been winning all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi since 2014. So, what has been the contribution of its MPs towards making the city better? During the Sheila Dikshit government, Delhi used to be known as the greenest capital, but is now one of the most polluted,” he added.
