In a big jolt to opposition unity ahead of the Delhi elections, the Aam Adami Party (AAP) said it would consult other parties of the INDIA bloc to remove the Congress from the alliance, sources told India Today. The AAP is upset with the Congress after it filed a complaint against Arvind Kejriwal accusing him of "misleading and deceiving" the public with promises of "non-existent" welfare schemes.
Sources said the AAP was also upset about remarks made by Ajay Maken and other Delhi Congress leaders targeting the party.
The complaint was lodged by the Youth Congress after two Delhi departments released public notices saying the proposed Mahila Samman Yojana and the Sanjeevani Yojana had not been notified by the government and were "non-existent".
The notices, which triggered a massive row, were issued as Kejriwal and Chief Minister Atishi kickstarted registration for the two schemes.
In its complaint, the Youth Congress claimed AAP was using "false and deceptive" promises to gain voters' trust. The Congress also accused the AAP of misappropriating public funds through deceptive advertisements.
"AAP leaders, including MLAs and MCD councillors, have been actively collecting sensitive personal information such as voter ID details and phone numbers through an online registration process requiring OTP verification," the complaint alleged.
The development comes at a time when Delhi Congress leaders have ratcheted up their attacks against the ruling party in Delhi. Kejriwal has previously announced that the AAP would contest the Delhi polls, where it is eyeing a fourth term, alone.
On Wednesday, Congress veteran Ajay Maken upped the ante by saying that the grand old party's decision to support the AAP in 2013 led to its decline in Delhi. Maken also said that there was a need to rectify the "mistake" of aligning with the AAP for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
"I feel the Congress got weakened here (in Delhi) only because of the fact that we supported AAP for 40 days in 2013 (during the first Kejriwal government). And, I believe that perhaps a mistake has been made again in Delhi by making the alliance (in the last Lok Sabha election), which now needs to be rectified," the Congress leader said.
Source: India Today