New Delhi:
Senior Delhi Congress leader Ajay Maken on Wednesday lashed out at Aam Aadmi Party convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. In a special conversation with NDTV, he accused Kejriwal of never speaking the truth. He accused Kejriwal of not fulfilling his promises and also called him anti-national. Maken said that people in Delhi vote for Kejriwal because no one expects that Congress will win and BJP benefits from this.
Ajay Maken said, “I believe that I have seen many leaders within our country… but I have not seen such a leader who never speaks the truth, and that is (Arvind) Kejriwal. Never speaks the truth, whenever he speaks, he lies. That’s why I say that he is a fraud… a master of fraud. That is why I say that he has forgotten all the promises he had made. He had promised Lokpal, he forgot. CAG had brought the report, they forgot the entire report. In Delhi they are saying that they will give Rs 2000. Earlier he had promised one thousand rupees but he did not give it. A promise was made in Punjab, but it was not fulfilled.
Why are CAG reports not made public?
Congress leader Maken said, “Those who used to attack Congress during the time of Manmohan Singh. They used to attack on the basis of CAG report. Today there are 14 CAG reports. People are telling him that you should table him, then why are you not table him? One of them was on health, in which a scam of Rs 384 crore was clearly visible because more money was spent than the tender amount. Apart from this, the budget allocation within Delhi between 2016 and 2021 lapsed and could not even be used. Almost 56 percent could not use the money, this is criminal negligence.
He said, “I had said that I will tell why I say that Kejriwal is anti-national and I am saying that when the time comes, I will hold a press conference with full details as to why I am saying this and I am saying this today. I stand by that too. Kejriwal ji had called himself an anarchist, an anarchist… An anarchist is one who does not believe in the law or the Constitution. So the person who himself says that he does not believe in the Constitution is an anti-national. Kejriwal ji himself says that I do not believe in the Constitution, I do not believe in the Constitution of Baba Saheb Ambedkar, then the person who is saying this himself is anti-national.
Since Kejriwal’s arrival in Delhi, only BJP is winning Lok Sabha seats.
Ajay Maken said, “I say again that Diwali firecrackers should not be burnt together.” There will be no earthquake or cataclysm after this election, nor will the whole world come to an end and this election is only for Delhi. Delhi is a union territory. We all know that the government of Delhi is not even a half government, it is a quarter government…even if the government is formed, the real power lies with the Lieutenant Governor. So the Lieutenant Governor is under the control of BJP. So we should try to bring Congress to the Center and hence Congress should be strong at the Centre.
Maken said, “It is history that whoever wins the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi forms the government at the Centre. Ever since Arvind Kejriwal came to power in Delhi, only BJP is winning Lok Sabha seats. When Sheila Dikshit was the Chief Minister, we Congress had won all seven seats. When Congress is in power in Delhi, people vote for Congress, but after Kejriwal comes, they vote for Kejriwal because no one has any hope that Congress will win and BJP benefits from it.
Congress did not have to support Kejriwal
Ajay Maken said, “There are many opinions in our party…different people have opinions.” I have been of this opinion since the beginning. From the very first day, I believed that they should not have been supported in 2013 and should not have fought together in the Lok Sabha in 2024 also. Its loss was not to Congress but to the people of Delhi. BJP benefited from the loss suffered by the people of Delhi.
He said, “If Congress goes out of power in Delhi, then the public suffers loss. When there was Sheila ji’s government, there was Vajpayee ji led BJP government at the Centre, but we delivered. We did not say that the Center is not allowing it to be done, the Lieutenant Governor is not allowing it to be done… there were problems but we used to solve them.
Kejriwal uses the power of Congress in elections
Maken said, “It was an issue of India alliance, but Kejriwal himself was the first to announce the decision to contest the elections separately in Delhi. When Kejriwal himself lost the Lok Sabha elections, he said that we will contest the elections alone in Delhi… so can we? Should we hold Kamandal and go to Kumbh? Congress has its own strength inside Delhi. Kejriwal contests elections using the power of Congress and then throws him out like a fly in milk.
He said, “There should be no alliance at all in the future. If we talk about alliance then how will we ask for votes from the people. We are telling people to trust us, if we form the government, then how will we form an alliance with them. Will not support at all, will sit in complete opposition. If people have not given us the mandate to come into government, then how will we come into government?
Congress has its place in Delhi
Maken said, “This is my own personal opinion.” I have been saying from the first day that in our party everyone takes decisions together but this is my own opinion and I am the senior most among all the parties in Delhi. My own personal opinion is that Congress has its place in Delhi. People still want Congress back, remember the Congress rule. We have very good leaders. So, at such a time, Congress should not leave its place.
He said, “We are a secular party. We do not do this to support Muslims just to get their votes. The party decided to field Sandeep Dixit because he has an emotional attachment with the area. When Kejriwal defeated Sheila Dikshit in the elections, what kind of misleading propaganda and lies were spread against her. Lies were told against Manmohan Singh. That’s why I say that if anyone has the world record for apologizing, it is Kejriwal.
Ajay Maken said, “If you ask Congress people not only in Delhi but also in Punjab and Gujarat and even in Goa, everyone is against Kejriwal.” We have not lost in these states, BJP has won. Don’t think of it only from the perspective of Delhi, we lost in Haryana also because Kejriwal ji fielded a candidate. Our party was in talks to fight with them, our talks were going on at the advanced stage. But as soon as Kejriwal came out of jail after getting bail, he said that he will contest on 90 out of 90 seats.
