Tag: Sheila Dikshit

AAP, BJP Responsible For Making Delhi the Most Polluted Capital: Congress’s Arvinder Singh Lovely

‘Delhi was the greenest capital in the world and Delhi’s green cover was talked about everywhere. But in seven years, Delhi has gone from the greenest capital to become the most polluted capital,’ said Lovely, who has assumed charge as the Delhi Congress chief.

New Delhi: Newly appointed Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Arvinder Singh Lovely – who formally assumed office on Thursday, September 14, – attributed the responsibility for transforming Delhi from the world’s greenest capital to the world’s most polluted capital to both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Lovely has been the Delhi Congress president in the past. He was also a minister in the Sheila Dikshit government in Delhi.

He was appointed the Delhi Congress chief on August 31.

Lovely told The Wire that the Delhi unit will follow the party high command on any seat-sharing arrangements within the INDIA alliance ahead of the 2024 general elections, but will not “compromise on Delhi’s interests”.

“Delhi was the greenest capital in the world and Delhi’s green cover was talked about everywhere. Delhi’s ministers were called to even cities such as Copenhagen to discuss how Delhi was made the greenest capital. But in seven years, Delhi has gone from the greenest capital to become the most polluted capital. Both these parties are responsible for that. So, how can I stop myself from speaking against both of them?”

“Whenever there will be an issue pertaining to development and welfare of Delhi we will speak up,” he said.

Lovely was speaking at an event at the Delhi Congress headquarters in Rouse Avenue. Several top Delhi Congress leaders, including Ajay Maken, Alka Lamba, Sandeep Dikshit, Pawan Khera, Udit Raj, among others, were present at the event.

The event came just a day after the INDIA alliance of 26 opposition parties on Wednesday (September 13) at their first coordination committee meeting decided to conclude seat-sharing talks at the earliest.

Delhi has seen disagreements between the INDIA alliance members – AAP and the Congress – in the recent months.

Murmurs of fissures emerged after Delhi Congress leader Alka Lamba said on August 16, after a party organisational meeting, that the Congress would contest all seven seats in the national capital in the 2024 general elections.

The statement drew sharp reactions from AAP, and there were speculations over whether Delhi chief minister and AAP’s national convener, Arvind Kejriwal, would attend the India bloc’s Mumbai meeting.

However, after clarifications were issued, Kejriwal announced that he will attend the grouping’s third meeting in Mumbai.

Also read: Amid Disagreements Over State Polls, Congress and AAP Say India Alliance Is for ‘National’ Election

Prior to that, AAP had only joined the second INDIA bloc meeting in Bengaluru in July, after the Congress publicly promised to not support the contentious Delhi ordinance on control of services in parliament, which became a law last month.

The rift between the two parties over the Delhi ordinance had also dominated the first INDIA alliance meeting in Bihar.

Lovely said that as the new Delhi Congress president, his role is not to work with other parties.

“My role is not to work with other parties, my role is to strengthen the Congress organisation. That (working with other parties) is the role of the leadership and whatever their direction will be we will follow.”

Referring to statements made by Lamba and the ensuing differences with AAP, Lovely said that he stands by the leaders who aired their views freely.

“The basic difference between the Congress and other parties is that we are allowed to express our views freely. Everyone can express their views freely and I stand by those leaders as they have every right to speak freely. The Congress is a disciplined party, and when the high command asked for our views, some were in support of it and some were against.”

“But everyone said that these are our views and whatever decision the high command takes, we will abide by that. So, there are no issues and the decisions (related to seat sharing) will be taken by the high command. But my duty as Delhi Congress chief is to strengthen the Congress and make the Delhi Congress ready for any situation,” he said.

This is Lovely’s second run as the Delhi Congress president. He was asked to step down from his post in 2015. In May 2017, he joined the BJP but returned to the Congress in February 2018.

Referring to his decision to leave the party in his speech at the event earlier, Lovely said that he had made a mistake which he continues to regret, and urged those who have left the Congress to return to the party.

“I appealed to those workers who have become annoyed with us to return because their DNA is [of the] Congress, which means for generations they have been in the Congress [party] and they are now feeling suffocated in other parties,” he told The Wire.

“So the fight that Rahul Gandhi has started is not only a fight to strengthen the Congress, it is a fight to save this nation.”

“The people of India have to decide whether they want to build the leadership of one leader or the nation. That is why I’ve appealed to all Congress leaders that come and join us in the fight to save the country,” he said.

 

Watch | Dwarka Residents Speak Out Against BJP’s Attempts to Divide People on ‘Haj House’ Issue

More than a hundred residents have slammed the communal colour that has been lent to the protests against the construction of a Haj House in Dwarka. 

After the recent protests spearheaded by right-wing organisations against the construction of a Haj House in Dwarka, a group called the ‘All Dwarka Residents Federation’ wrote a letter to the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi claiming that the area would have an atmosphere like Kashmir if the construction were to be allowed.

More than 100 residents have denied the contents of the letter, slamming the communal colour that has been lent to the protests, and are supporting the construction of the Haj House. The Wire went to Dwarka to speak to residents about where they stand.

Watch | Hindutva Groups Stoke ‘Terror’ Fears Over Haj House in Delhi

The rightwing protesters claimed that the ‘peace’ of the neighbourhood would be destroyed by the construction.

More than 1,000 people gathered in response to a call given on Friday by Hindu right-wing organisations to protest against the construction of Delhi’s first Haj house at Dwarka’s Bharthal Chowk in the west of the national capital. The Wire spoke to them know more.

Hindutva Groups Target Haj House in Dwarka, Call it ‘Terrorism in Our Peaceful Area’

Protesters who had gathered under the aegis of radical Hindu right-wing groups claimed they were opposed to the construction of a Haj house for reasons that had nothing to do with “a particular religion.” Their own words suggested otherwise.

New Delhi: More than 1,000 people gathered in response to a call given Friday by Hindu right-wing organisations to protest against the construction of Delhi’s first Haj house at Dwarka’s Bharthal Chowk in the west of the national capital.

The project had been envisioned in 2008 by Delhi’s then chief minister Sheila Dikshit. 

With roughly 20,000 pilgrims going on Haj every year, Delhi is the largest departure point for the pilgrimage in the country. 

Dikshit had laid the foundation stone of the Haj house and allotted a plot for it measuring around 5,000 square metres in Dwarka’s Sector 22. 

A decade later, in 2018, the Arvind Kejriwal government allocated Rs 94 crore for the project. 

The building was supposed to be centrally air-conditioned and with state-of-the-art facilities, separate dormitories for men and women, VIP suites, immigration counters, prayer halls, a library, kitchen and dining area. 

The library was to display a history of the Haj pilgrimage from India.

Though work on the building has still not begun, radical Hindu right-wing groups are protesting against its construction, claiming it would “disturb” the peace of the area.

Friday’s protest, or “mahapanchayat” against the construction of the Haj house was organised by several groups, including Hindu Shakti Sangathan, Samast Chetra Vaasi, Sampoorn Dehat and Federation of Dwarka. 

Residents of nearby villages participated in the protest, held near the Cluster Bus Depot Photo: Ismat Ara/The Wire

Residents of nearby villages such as Palam, Dhool Siras, Bharthal, Pochanpur and Bamnoli, as well as people living in DDA colonies in the area participated in the protest, held near the Cluster Bus Depot.

At around 10 am, people began to gather at Bharthal Chowk, chanting “Jai Shri Ram.” Within an hour, nearly a thousand had gathered. Some of the banners they held said, “Why a Haj house? Why not a school, a college or a hospital?”

Speakers at the gathering said that the construction of the Haj house would “translate into terrorism and Muslim domination” in the country. Some also objected to taxpayers’ money being used to build a religious site. 

Delhi, unlike other states, does not have its own Haj house. There is, however, a dilapidated building near Turkman Gate on old Delhi known as the Haj Manzil, which is entrusted with helping Indian Haj pilgrims with submission of their documents, distribution of passports, camping arrangements, and other necessities, before the annual Haj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia every year.

The Haj Manzil, operating out of the first floor of the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board building, is little more than a shelter and does not have enough space to accommodate the tens of thousands of pilgrims who make their way to Mecca. All year round, DUSIB uses this space as a community centre, but during the time of the Haj, it is used for operations related to the pilgrimage. 

In the absence of a Haj house, pilgrims, along with their family members, are made to stay in transit camps that are built at the Ramlila Maidan and Dargah Faiz Ilahi every year.

Mukhtar Ahmed, chairperson of the Delhi State Haj house, while speaking to The Wire, said that there is an acute shortage of space.

“People from Delhi as well as nearby states go for the Haj pilgrimage via Delhi, and we always have trouble in managing the crowds due to lack of space,” he said.

Also read: How the Haj Committee of India Managed Applications During COVID-19

But the protestors who assembled in Dwarka are adamant.

Vikash Jogi, president of Bharat Truck and Transportation Welfare Association in Delhi, lives in Najafgarh near Dwarka. 

“They will have to kill us first if they want to construct this Haj house,” he said.

When asked why he was so opposed to the idea, he said, “It is unfair to the Hindu community, it is torture for us. If Muslims need a Haj House, why can’t it be constructed where they live, in places like Nizamuddin or Okhla?” 

‘On Thursday, a residents’ federation in Dwarka wrote to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, who is also chairperson of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), asking him to cancel the land allotment.’ Photo: Ismat Ara/The Wire

The choice of place, according to a politician close to the late Sheila Dikshit, was prompted by its proximity to the airport, from where Haj pilgrims could easily depart for their journey.

A few hundred metres, near the stage of Friday’s protest, one of the organisers announced that the protest is completely “non-political” and that they have no hatred towards the Muslim community. “But a Haj house should not be made near our place of residence, where 99% of the population is Hindu,” he added.

On Thursday, a residents’ federation in Dwarka wrote to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, who is also chairperson of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), asking him to cancel the land allotment. 

“There is strong apprehension that the brotherhood, harmony and peace in the society, apart from law and order will be disturbed, if the said HUJ HOUSE is allowed to construct (sic) in Dwarka and further more there will be every possibility of riots, migration of Hindus and repetion of situation like Shaheen Bagh, Jafrabad and Kashmir,” B.P. Vaishnav, secretary of the All Dwarka Residents Federation wrote in the letter to Baijal.

‘Answer them with the same brick’

While Friday’s protest was on, Dharmendra Singh, a member of the Bajrang Dal, stood in a corner asking Hindus to “unite.” The Bajrang Dal is affiliated to the Vishwa Hinndu Parishad, which, in turn, is linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

“Hinduon, ekta dikhao…Ekta dikhao, Haj house rokne ke liye jo bhi karna pade, karo,” he said. (“Hindus, show unity, do whatever is needed to stop the new Haj house.”

When asked what he will do if the government does not stop the construction, Singh said, “Let them try and put even one brick here, we will answer them with the same brick.”

Also read: The Trials and Tribulations of Being a Muslim in Today’s India

About 100 metres away, another man announced over a microphone that this is a peaceful demonstration and symbolic protest. “We are only requesting the administration to listen to us,” he said.

Hundreds of police personnel sat or stood in the area. As the crowd swelled, the police remained oblivious to the violation of COVID-19 protocols.

Dharmendra Singh continued, “We Hindus cannot keep suffering. Slowly, demographics will change and Muslims will dominate the country. Besides, this place is close to the airport, so it is sensitive. If a Haj house is constructed here, terrorists will hide in it…”

“Haj house is an excuse, they want to breed terrorists.” Photo: Ismat Ara/The Wire

Dayanand, another Bajrang Dal member, said that the main problem was not with the construction of the Haj house, but the “intention behind it.”

Referring to Manish Sisodia’s statement on building a university on the disputed Ram temple spot in Ayodhya, Dayanand said, “What is the need for a Haj house? Why not make a university here? Or a hospital?” He added that this was an attempt by the Aam Aadmi Party to “appease” the Muslim community.

“Haj house is an excuse, they want to breed terrorists,” another protester shouted.

‘Not about any religion’

Geeta Nayak, among the handful of women at the protest, held a banner saying ‘Why a Haj house?’

While most people at the protest had come from nearby villages, she came from the DDA SFS flats in Dwarka. “All the people who live in the DDA flats are against the construction of this Haj house,” she said.

Also read: Behind the Social Media Face of a Violent Hindutva Activist Lies an Entire Ecosystem of Hate

Her husband, Prakash Nayak, insisted on speaking. “Make a hospital, college, school, laboratory, anything but a Haj house. We don’t want to plant a tree that will later give us thorny fruits,” he said. 

When asked what this meant, he elaborated, “It will give birth to terrorism in our otherwise peaceful area.”

He then added quickly, “It is not about any religion.”

Besides “breeding terrorists,” said Nayak, the roads will see more traffic if a Haj house is constructed here. “What if Muslims capture this area and start protesting here, like they did in Shaheen Bagh? Even the administration was unable to clear it for many months…” he said.

“All the people who live in the DDA flats are against the construction of this Haj house.” Photo: Ismat Ara/The Wire

A man, listening to Nayak’s words, jumped in. “It’s not just that. Do you not realise that almost Rs 100 crore of taxpayers’ money has been allocated for this Haj house? This is our money, not the Delhi government’s money,” he says. 

“Why should the government make a Haj house for the Muslims? They themselves should contribute money and get it constructed in their own area, such as in Okhla or Nizamuddin. Our area is peaceful, we want it to remain peaceful,” he added.

Over a loudspeaker, a woman said, “Ram is Allah, and Allah is Ram…we don’t have any objection to the Haj house, but they should make it somewhere else, not in our area.”

Why Kejriwal 3.0 Must See the AAP Go National

Having discredited the party which was the principal opposition to the BJP, it is incumbent upon AAP to provide the country with a national alternative.

As early leads turned into a second resounding victory for AAP in the national capital, it became clear that the demise of Sheila Dikshit had caused more damage to the BJP than to her own party, the now decimated Congress. If only she were around to mount a campaign, the Congress might have been able to rake in a respectable vote share, thereby benefiting the BJP.

What happened instead was a complete annihilation of the saffron party. A lot is being said and will be said about the reasons behind this victory. The AAP is definitely worthy of all the appreciation directed towards it. However, with a little over 7 years of political experience under its belt, it is time that we assess what Arvind Kejriwal and his party’s plans for the near future are.

While novel policies related to issues such as education and healthcare are being hailed as the primary reasons behind the AAP’s massive victory, one should recall that the party’s roots lie in an ambush campaign against UPA-II. Against the backdrop of the CAG’s damning report regarding 2G allocation under UPA-I, the India Against Corruption (IAC) campaign, of which Arvind Kejriwal and his team were at the front, brought the UPA-II down to its knees.

Only two years after an impressive performance in the 2009 general elections, Manmohan Singh’s government had lost the battle of perception. The fact that it was pitted against civil society and not just another political party only worsened the situation. What followed was a prolonged phase of policy paralysis, with weary bureaucrats and ministers unwilling to take decisions. Exacerbated by some poor economic policymaking and other self-goals, this paralysis was perceived to be the primary reason behind the ensuing economic slowdown. It was this very despair and frustration that allowed Narendra Modi to sell the Gujarat model of development and storm into power at the Centre.

Also read: AAP Has Successfully Forged a Model for Regional Forces to Emulate

Two national elections later, Prime Minister Modi’s record on governance is a mixed bag. However, it is clear that his government’s position on critical issues such as the nation’s plurality and respect for democratic institutions completely contradicts the spirit of the popular anti-corruption movement, which laid the foundations of his entry into national politics.

At the same time, even eight years after the IAC movement, the Congress, despite victories across a few states, does not seem to have recovered. Its serious lack of credibility – a combined result of the early wounds inflicted by the IAC campaign, innumerable self-goals and persistent attacks by a merciless BJP – is one of the primary reasons behind the rise of the ruthless Modi-Shah duo. To be fair, one can argue that on a number of issues for which it was blamed, the Congress technically stands vindicated.

The suspected lynchpins behind the 2G case were acquitted by a CBI court in 2017 and despite all his threats, Kejriwal did not have adequate evidence to prove anything against Sheila Dikshit. The perception battle, however, is still lost. Worryingly though, the very fabric of India’s liberal democracy is being strained through frequent assaults in the form of laws and policies and it is no longer a viable option to wait for the Congress to get its act together anytime soon.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal addresses supporters after party’s victory in the state assembly polls. Photo: PTI/Ravi Choudhary

It is therefore incumbent upon Kejriwal and AAP to undertake all possible efforts to provide the country with a national alternative. Having discredited the party that otherwise would have been the principal opposition to the BJP at the Centre, Kejriwal and his team should now chin up and prepare for a larger role in national politics.

The party’s poor performance in the 2014 national elections and subsequent unsuccessful forays into states like Goa, Rajasthan and Punjab – where they conceded self-goals – did not bring much success. So, the party would be forgiven for being sceptical of a reentry. It is also true that the battle for Delhi was unlike that of any other state. Larger states with diverse issues and more entrenched identity politics will require different kinds of political strategies. In addition, national success requires delegation and decentralisation, and AAP’s past record does not inspire too much confidence on these fronts.

Also read: AAP: Soft Hindutva or a Bulwark Without Illusions?

It is, however, time that AAP gets its act together. With a popular Hindi-speaking leader who understands modern-day politics, an enthusiastic party structure that is not yet associated with nepotism or corruption and the perception of being efficient administrators (much like Modi), the party has some of the key ingredients needed to challenge the BJP.

What it lacks, among other things, are resources and a wider party infrastructure. A project on this scale could take years, if not decades and AAP needs to start working on it right away. In this regard, reports that the party is planning to contest local body elections across the country indicate it realises the need to expand. This will allow them to sell their model of efficient provision of public goods at the micro-level, which might then pave the way for success in bigger electoral battles.

If these challenges are met, then the party could emerge as a credible national alternative in the current political scenario.

Kartikeya Batra is pursuing his PhD in Economics at the University of Maryland, College Park. Previously, as part of Harvard Kennedy School and IFMR’s EPoD India program, he worked in the domain of rural economics across several states in India. 

Congress Leaders Can’t Decide Whether to Mourn or Celebrate Delhi Election Results

Reactions from Congress leaders have varied from celebratory to calling the outcome an ‘unmitigated disaster’.

New Delhi: The Congress party received a drubbing in the recent assembly elections in Delhi, managing just 4% of the vote share and not even coming close to winning a single seat. In fact, the party lost its deposit in 63 of the 66 seats it contested in the national capital. Election rules say that if a candidate receives less than 16.67% of votes polled in a constituency, she has to forfeit the deposit paid at the time of nomination.

Not long ago, the Congress had hit its peak vote share of 40% in 2008 – the last of three elections that the Sheila Dixit-led Congress won in Delhi on the trot.

The reactions of the Congress leadership to the party’s spectacular decimation in the polls earlier this week have varied from celebratory to calling the outcome an ‘unmitigated disaster’.

On the afternoon of February 11, as it became clear that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will return to power in Delhi with a thumping majority and that the Congress will draw a blank for a second time in a row, senior party leader and former finance minister P. Chidambaram tweeted to ‘salute the people of Delhi’ who, he said, has set an example that could be followed by other states that go to polls in 2021 and 2022.

The subtext, of course, was the Bharatiya Janata Party’s divisive, communal and, at times, violent campaign which tried to paint all anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protests as treason and vilify the protestors as not just anti-national but even terrorists.

Watch | Lack of Policy Clarity Led to Corruption Charges, UPA Handled Cases Badly: Montek Singh Ahluwalia

A day later, Sharmistha Mukherjee, who is president of the Delhi Mahila Congress and daughter of former President Pranab Mukherjee, took exception to Chidambaram’s tweet. In a tweet of her own, she wanted to know why Chidambaram was ‘gloating’ about AAP’s victory and not expressing concern over the ‘drubbing’ faced by the Congress.

“Has INCIndia (Congress party) outsourced the task of defeating BJP to state parties?” she asked. So far, no response has been reported.

In stark contrast with Chidambaram’s almost euphoric mood, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh compared the defeat to the recent coronavirus outbreak.

“It (the Delhi election result) is an unmitigated disaster like coronavirus for the Congress,” he said.

Ramesh also stressed that the party and its leaders need to ‘reinvent themselves’. “Otherwise, we are staring at irrelevance. Our arrogance has to go, even after six years out of power sometimes, some of us behave as if we are still ministers,” he said.

Congress leader from Madhya Pradesh Jyotiraditya Scindia also echoed Ramesh’s view. “The Delhi result is highly disappointing for us. We urgently need new thinking and work approach as the country has changed now,” he said.

Apart from statements about the need for reinvention, some Congress leaders looked to accomplish the task of apportioning blame for the defeat. The Delhi Congress in-charge P.C. Chacko chose to train his guns towards the deceased Sheila Dixit, who passed away in July 2019.

“The downfall of the Congress party started in 2013 when Sheila Dikshit ji was the chief minister. The emergence of a new party, AAP, took away the entire Congress vote bank. We could never get it back. It still remains with AAP,” Chacko said.

Also read | Despite Its Flaws, Congress Remains the Electorate’s Preferred Alternative

Dikshit’s former aide Pawan Khera jumped to her defence, citing Congress’s vote share numbers. “Just a data point. In 2013, when we lost, Congress vote share in Delhi was 24.55 pc. Sheila ji was not involved in 2015, when the vote share slipped to 9.7 pc. In 2019, when she was back in charge, the vote share came up to 22.46 pc,” he said.

Others like Abhishek Manu Singhvi had a very different take on Dikshit’s importance. Singhvi argued that the Congress, in fact, missed her leadership and persona. “We never really got into the fight because we lost a tall leader and we could not in the short time project an alternative. Need to choose and project somebody who can spend the next three years on the ground being completely backed by the Congress party,” he told NDTV.

Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha defended the lack of consensus in the reactions to the defeat, arguing that this was a sign that the leaders cared about the fate of the party. “Folks, please do not make a big deal about Congress leaders speaking out candidly after our dismal showing in Delhi. Many of us are angry or upset because we care. This is not about pulling someone down etc. Accountability must be the name of the game,” he said.

February 8: Another Exciting Electoral Battle Awaits Delhi

The ruling AAP, under Arvind Kejriwal, is seeking to keep the BJP and the Congress from power.

New Delhi: The elections to the legislative assembly of Delhi, to be held on February 8, with the results to be announced three days later, will again feature a three-cornered contest. The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), under chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, is seeking to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress from power. While the BJP has ruled Delhi once before, from 1993 to 1998, the Congress was in power for three terms, from 1998 to 2013.  For AAP, this would be the third time it will seek to form the government in Delhi.

History of Delhi assembly

Though the Delhi legislative assembly was first constituted in 1952, when it had a council of ministers headed by the first chief minister Chaudhary Brahm Prakash, it initially only played an advisory role to the Chief Commissioner of Delhi.

This assembly was subsequently disbanded when, following an amendment of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, Delhi was made a Union Territory. The Delhi legislative assembly and the council of ministers were subsequently abolished.

Thereafter, the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 led to the formation of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. Further, the Delhi Administration Act, 1966 replaced the Delhi assembly with the Delhi metropolitan council, which had 56 elected and five nominated members. This council had no legislative power and only played an advisory role.

Assembly was constituted with 70 members in 1993

The council was replaced by the Delhi legislative assembly through the Constitution (Sixty-ninth) Amendment Act, 1991 and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991.

The first election to this newly constituted assembly, which was to have 70 elected members, headed by a chief minister, was held in 1993.

Khurana-led BJP formed first government

In these elections, the BJP led by popular Delhi leader Madan Lal Khurana, won a comfortable majority by winning 49 seats. It also secured almost half (47.82%) of all votes polled. The Congress won 14 seats and secured 34.48% of the votes. The Janata Dal won four seats on the back of a 12.65% vote share.

While Khurana became the chief minister, when his name, along with BJP senior leader L.K. Advani’s, cropped up in the Jain hawala diary case, he resigned from the post in 1996. The party then handed the reins to the then-Delhi education minister and Jat leader Sahib Singh Verma, who held the post even after Khurana was exonerated from the allegations. However, in the wake of an unprecedented onion price rise ahead of the 1998 polls, the party replaced Verma with Sushma Swaraj as chief minister.

Congress comes to power

In the 1998 elections, a deeply divided and disillusioned BJP proved no match to the Congress, even though it had come to power in the Centre by then.

The Congress won 52 seats in the 70-member assembly with 47.76% of the votes. The BJP not only saw its seats drop sharply to just 15, it also saw its vote share erode to 34.02%. Instead of its known faces, the Congress chose to go with the suave and experienced Sheila Dikshit, the daughter-in-law of former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Uma Shankar Dixit, who was also a former Union minister in Rajiv Gandhi’s cabinet.

Dikshit led the party well and in her first term, she focussed on infrastructural development through construction of flyovers, new bus shelters and converted Delhi’s entire public road transport to CNG mode. She also oversaw the privatisation of electricity services. With the Delhi Metro also becoming operational during this period, she retained people’s support going into the next elections.

Sheila Dikshit. Photo: PTI

Congress vote share rose in 2003 polls

In the 2003 assembly polls, the Congress again returned to power, albeit with a slightly reduced tally of 47 seats. However, its vote share grew to 48.13%.

The BJP had no leader to take on Dikshit and thus ended a distant second with 20 seats. As the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led BJP government at the Centre also lost in 2004, the party got further demoralised in Delhi. Without an organised opposition, Dikshit went confidently into another election.

In 2008, BJP damaged own prospects

In 2008, some felt that the BJP, under leader of opposition (LoP) Harsh Vardhan, could topple the Dikshit-led Congress. However, the saffron party put paid to those hopes by bringing in Vijay Kumar Malhotra as the CM face just before the polls.

The result was a loss of interest in the polls among many BJP leaders and another clear victory for the Congress and a bungalow for Malhotra in Lutyens’ Delhi, as he now got the post of LoP in the Delhi assembly.

It was, however, a close call for the Congress. It won 43 seats, but its vote share dropped to 40.31%. The BJP’s tally stood at 23 seats with a vote share of 36.34%. The year also saw a significant increase in BSP’s vote share, at 14.05%, but the party only managed to win two seats.

The warning signs for the Congress were there to be seen.

Arrogance, corruption in Commonwealth Games cost Congress

Arrogance began creeping into the Congress as the party entered its third term. The 2010 Commonwealth Games required a lot of expenditure on infrastructure development and allegations of corruption flew, supported by massive expenses shown on various items of purchase by the organising body.

The popularity of the Dikshit government took a hit.

Around this time, the India Against Corruption campaign led by social reformer Anna Hazare – centred around the demand for a Lokpal or ombudsman – caught the fancy of the people. Though the campaign was led by civil society, many believed that it was also supported by the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS). The movement portrayed the then-Congress government in a poor light and led to the creation of AAP, as Arvind Kejriwal broke ranks and decided to float a political outfit.

Congress helped AAP form government after 2013 polls

AAP entered the political arena during the 2013 Delhi assembly elections and immediately made deep inroads, dislodging the Congress from the pedestal. Though the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 31 seats and 33.07% vote share, AAP was close behind with 28 seats and 29.49% vote share.

The Congress lost badly, winning just eight seats as its vote share dropped to 24.55%. Its vote share was propped up by SC, Sikh and Muslim voters. Of its elected MLAs, four were Muslims who had a strong presence in their constituencies, two were Sikhs and the remaining two were from the SC category.

As the results sprung a hung assembly for the first time, the Congress decided to extend outside support to AAP, which formed its first government in Delhi. Kejriwal became the chief minister.

Kejriwal quits

But just 45 days into forming the government, Kejriwal quit abruptly, alleging that the Centre was not implementing the Lokpal. He decided to contest the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and take on the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi from Varanasi.

AAP could not make much impact during the general elections. It won four seats in Punjab but failed to open its account in Delhi and elsewhere. With the Modi wave sweeping the country, the BJP won all seven seats in Delhi. It polled 46.40% of the votes, compared to AAP’s 32.90% and the Congress’s 15.10%.

Arvind Kejriwal. Photo: PTI/Manvender Vashist

Record win for AAP in 2015 polls

By the time the 2015 Assembly elections were held, it had become clear that AAP was the only capable force to pose a serious challenge to the BJP. The saffron party projected Kiran Bedi as its chief ministerial candidate for the polls.

As such, Kejriwal’s party won a record 67 seats in the polls with 54.34% of the votes. The BJP won the remaining three seats, polling 32.19% of the votes. The Congress was the biggest loser, failing to open its account for the first time and also saw its vote share plummet to a meagre 9.65%.

During his term, Kejriwal was in a continuous war of attrition with the Centre over jurisdiction, the authority to take decisions and run Delhi. The CM repeatedly attacked PM Modi, accusing the Centre of not letting him run the Delhi government and using the Lieutenant Governor as a pawn. The matter even went to the Delhi high court and the Supreme Court.

Kejriwal government claimed major success in education, healthcare

Despite the hurdles, the Kejriwal government has claimed major successes in the fields of education, healthcare, and water and electricity supply. It claims to have built over 20,000 classrooms in schools, operationalised 400 mohalla clinics, provided free electricity and power up to a certain usage and fulfilled all its 70 promises – even the one to provide free wifi.

Apart from the Kejriwal government’s performance, issues that may have a bearing on the outcome of the election includes its opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Other important issues include development works in unauthorised colonies, for whose regularisation a Bill was recently passed in parliament, and the government’s handling of the court-mandated sealing of commercial properties and the opposition to the move.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP again won all the seven seats in Delhi. Its vote share improved to 56.58%. But one noticeable change was that the Congress returned to the second spot with 22.46% of the votes, while AAP was relegated to the third spot with 18% of the votes.

Will absence of CM face in BJP, Congress help AAP?

However, as the past has shown, assembly elections are a different game altogether. Though he has lost many friends of his own since the last assembly polls, Kejriwal is confident of another good showing for several reasons. The BJP does not have a strong person to project as its chief ministerial candidate; and the Congress, following Ajay Maken’s resignation as Delhi unit chief and the demise of Sheila Dikshit last year, is still a work-in-progress. Once again the support of minorities and backward classes could hold the key to the next government in Delhi.

Kejriwal Take Heart, BJP Govt Had Denied Sheila Dikshit Permission to Attend Foreign Meet Too

In 2003, Dikshit had sought permission to attend a mayors’ conference too. She, too, was denied permission by the BJP government of the time.

It is not ethics or precedent but pure politics that appears to have come in the way of the Narendra Modi government denying permission to Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal to attend a four-day C40 World Mayors’ Summit in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The meet began on October 9 and Kejriwal was thus not able to travel.

The Centre insisted that Kejriwal was denied permission because it was a “mayor-level conference”. To this, senior AAP leaders, Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha hit back, saying that former chief minister Sheila Dikshit of Congress too had attended this meet in 2007.

But two crucial aspects were not spelt out by the AAP leaders. One is that an earlier BJP government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee had denied Dikshit permission to attend a similar conference in the United States.

Also read: MEA Denies Kejriwal ‘Political Clearance’ to Attend Denmark Climate Meet

The other is that when Dikshit visited the mayors’ meet in 2007, there were very strong protests by leaders of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. However, the protests were ignored and Dikshit was able to attend the meet as the Congress was at the Centre then.

As these two instance show, the Centre holds considerable sway over a chief minister or minister’s ability to attend a mayors’ meet.

Defending the Centre’s stance, Union information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar said the permission was denied to the Delhi chief minister as it was a “mayor-level conference”.

Kejriwal was scheduled to attend the meet with seven others. He was to address two sessions and a joint press conference had been called to discuss action taken by his government to reduce pollution.

MEA: Decision based on ‘multiple inputs’

The Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that the decision to deny Kejriwal permission was based on “multiple inputs”. Its spokesperson was quoted as having said: “A considered decision on political clearance by the Ministry of External Affairs is based on multiple inputs and takes into account the nature of the event, the level of participation by other countries, type of invitation extended, etc.”

He added that in this case, “the participation of the chief minister of Delhi as a speaker at a panel discussion was not commensurate with the level of participation from other countries. The chief minister of one of the largest and populous cities in the world, which is also the capital of India, was therefore advised not to attend the event.”

Also read: Modi and His Ministers Spent Rs 392 Crore on Travel in Five Years

However, AAP did not buy into these arguments. Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh called the lack of permission to Kejriwal a clear example of “hostility” of the BJP-ruled Centre. He termed the action “unfortunate and beyond [his] understanding.”

Singh also asked why Narendra Modi’s government had so much hostility towards the Delhi government. “He (Kejriwal) wasn’t going on a vacation but to hold discussions with mayors of 100 cities of Asia and to present a better picture of our country on efforts to abate pollution. We applied a month ago but couldn’t get clearance,” he was quoted by a national daily as having said.

‘Frivolous reasoning’

Senior AAP leader and spokesperson Raghav Chadha said that “the frivolous reasoning given by Mr Javadekar does not stand scrutiny.” He said Javadekar did not check his facts before speaking.

Chadha reasoned that had Javadekar done so, “he would have known that in 2007, then chief minsiter Sheila Dikshit had led the Delhi delegation for the C40 climate change summit which was held in New York that year…”

The fact remains that Chadha also chose to cite past precedent selectively.

Dikshit too missed the 2003 meet where Delhi was awarded for pollution control. The issue of denial of permission to Dikhit by the NDA government in 2003 had also been widely reported by national media. Dikshit was then scheduled to attend a mayors’ conference and receive an award for implementing CNG towards making her state pollution-free.

At that conference, Delhi was awarded the US Department of Energy’s first Clean Cities International Partner of the Year award for its “bold efforts to curb air pollution and support alternative fuel initiatives”. The award was received by then Delhi chief secretary Shailaja Chandra in Dikshit’s absence.

It was only four years later in 2007, by when a Congress-led UPA government was in place at the Centre, that Dikshit was given permission to travel abroad for a mayors’ conference.

Delhi: Four-Time Congress MLA Parlad Singh Sawhney Joins AAP

Sawhney was a close aide of former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit.

New Delhi Four-time Congress MLA Parlad Singh Sawhney joined the Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday in presence of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Sawhney, 68, said he is impressed by AAP’s work and wherever he goes, he hears of the development works done by the party.

Sawhney, who was a close aide of former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, said he has not joined the party for getting a ticket to contest the upcoming assembly polls but to work towards the development of Delhi.

Welcoming him to the party fold, Kejriwal said he is extremely happy that Sawhney joined the AAP with his team.

“AAP started as a movement and there were times when after coming to power parties lost their vision but that is not the case with AAP. We have done revolutionary work since assuming office,” he said.

Sawhney was MLA from Chandni Chowk Assembly from 1998 till 2015. In 2015, he was defeated by AAP candidate Alka Lamba.

(PTI)

Modi Addresses Nation: ‘Jammu and Kashmir Will Now See Economic Development and Integration’

Industry, including tech and films, would now come to the Union Territories, the prime minister claimed

On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation for the first time since his government announced that it would be reading down Article 370, which took away the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated the state into two Union Territories. Without referring to the communications blackout, the protests or the Section 144 clampdown in the region, Modi made a plea for development and better governance in the Union Territories, indicating a de-facto explanation for the Centre’s twin decisions.

The Union Territories would be governed directly by the Centre, which would bring development, including, he said, the film industry which could use Jammu and Kashmir for shooting movies.

Modi began his speech with a clear focus on Article 370. He congratulated his “brothers and sisters” – the residents of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. “Article 370 had been keeping Jammu and Kashmir from the path of development. People were not able to say what good this article and Article 35A were doing to the state,” he said.

As many as 42,000 people died as a result of the this provision, the prime minister said, adding that it had become little more than a weapon in the hands of Pakistan.


Whenever a law is brought, there is strife, he said. “But no one could have imagined that a law could be brought for the entire nation. The previous government did not realise that the laws it was bringing could be implemented in Jammu and Kashmir too,” Modi said.

He then went on to give several examples of how the rest of India’s children, girls and safai karmacharis enjoy laws implemented countrywide, but people in Jammu and Kashmir do not. Among other examples of markers of equality he highlighted were the reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in elections.

Modi said that the Centre would offer benefits of house rent allowance, children’s education allowance, health schemes, and so on to government workers and police personnel of Jammu and Kashmir. He gave examples of how jobs will be created, vacancies filled and industries brought to the region now.

From AIIMS, IITs to railways, the region would be in for a facelift, the prime minister said. This, he stressed, was a realisation the Centre came to after allowing governor’s rule in the state in the past few months.


Modi also talked of the electoral culture in the Valley, and said wrongs had been done to people in the state through a lack of governance. He said people in Jammu and Kashmir would now be able to elect their own chief ministers and electors. “They will come from you,” he said, adding that if the situation is found to be conducive, then the Centre may even remove the Union Territory from under its control in due course.

“Ladakh, however, will remain under the Centre,” he said.

Also read: The Constitution is Allowing the Continued Discrimination of Valmikis in J&K

Modi also said he wished that the people of the region will begin to hope anew. “I have full belief that they will aim for better lives for themselves,” he said, adding that the system had, until now, not given youth in the state an opportunity to take up leadership posts.


Modi spoke for how the film industry and technology had much to contribute to employment of Jammu and Kashmir youths. He touched upon various sectors which could bring about economic development, including sports, for the young of Kashmir.

The prime minister listed delicacies and geographically-specific fauna from the region, which he said, “should be shared with the world.” Through the process, Modi stressed, farming and food processing would be amped.

Modi devoted several minutes to Ladakh in particular, making the case for awaited overall development in the region.

Also read: In Locking Kashmiris Up While Changing Their Lives, Modi Mirrored Indira’s 1983 Assam Move

He then came to criticisms his government has received over the decision. “I respect the decisions. It is the Centre’s responsibility to answer criticisms. I request everyone to help the government and country in ensuring Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in going forward,” he said.

Modi seemed to warn against politicking in the matter, and said he was not concerned with who voted for or against the motion to read down Article 370 in the parliament.

“I assure people in Jammu and Kashmir that slowly, slowly, the situation will return to normal,” he said.

He also wished people on the occasion of Eid. “The government is keen on ensuring that celebrations of Eid are not hampered in the region,” he added, congratulating security forces and government officials on “the excellent work they are doing” in maintaining peace in the region.

Listing another example of the region’s overall integration with the rest of India, Modi listed out the names of martyrs from Jammu and Kashmir who had been decorated with bravery awards given out by the Centre.

At around 2:30 pm, the prime minister’s office tweeted that the address would be at 8 pm. Speculation had been rife as to what Modi could speak about.

Most rumours on social media centred around the fact that the time was ripe for the prime minister to make a speech on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. The government has been keen to propagate the idea that the situation is peaceful in the region since Monday’s decision to water down Article 370 and bifurcate the state into two was announced.

Minutes before the prime minister began his address, ANI reported that around 70 “terrorists and hardcore pro-Pakistan separatists from Kashmir valley have been shifted to Agra in a special plane provided by the Indian Air Force.”

Protests have continued against the Centre’s decision.

The prime minister, on August 6, spoke in great praise of Union home minister Amit Shah’s speech at the parliament, during the course of which he presented the proposal for the scrapping of Article 370.