New Delhi: Delhi Congress chief Subhash Chopra has said that his party is trying its best to corner the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) by comparing the erstwhile Sheila Dikshit regime and the current government led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the national capital.
Enthused by the win in states including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, the grand old party is hopeful the tide will turn in its favour in the forthcoming Assembly elections in the capital. Congress had failed to win a single seat in the 2015 Delhi Assembly elections.
Under the leadership of Chopra, the Delhi Congress has been holding campaigns to project itself as a ‘reliable’ alternative to the ruling party, which he says, is adept at making false promises.
Studying in Delhi University, he joined student politics — 1970-71.
He did a diploma in Criminal Law from the United Kingdom.
He has served thrice as member of the Delhi Legislative Assembly representing Kalkaji constituency — 1998-2013.
Speaker of the Delhi Assembly — 2003.
Currently serving as President of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee.
He speaks to Gulf News in an exclusive interview:
GULF NEWS: It seems advantage AAP, which is going the whole way showcasing its achievements on issues that benefit the masses. Does Congress have anything other than three-time chief minister Sheila Dikshit’s name and feats to boast of?
SUBHASH CHOPRA: In no field has AAP made any achievement, except spending a colossal amount of money on advertisements making false claims of its accomplishments. Kejriwal is taking credit for the works started by the Congress. Whatever infrastructural facilities we created during the tenure of Sheila Dikshit — whether it was the Metro or the flyovers, were the vision of the Congress. It was during our rule that Delhi became the ‘greenest’ capital city in the world with its green cover going up to 22 per cent. AAP has not even been able to maintain the works started by our government.
What about the subsidy on electricity and….
It was our government that first provided subsidy on the units of electricity. We have announced that on coming back to power, we will provide relief to people consuming up to 600 units of electricity compared to AAP’s 400 units per month. We will provide all the details in our manifesto.
But Kejriwal says he will return to power due to the party’s accomplishments in the past five years?
He is only after money. The entire mess in Delhi is his handiwork. AAP is the creation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi.
But you think Congress can hope to ride on the recent glory of its win in certain states? What does it have on offer for Delhi?
Kejriwal came to power on slogans for removing corruption from the society. But nothing happened. People including Prashant Bhushan, Yogendra Yadav, Ashutosh and Kumar Vishwas, who founded AAP, are no longer with him. I am surprised that the person who sat on a dharna (protest) to get three police personnel suspended in 2014 (for not following the ‘orders’ of the Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti to arrest some Ugandan and Nigerian nationals) was sleeping in his bungalow when Delhi was burning over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) issue. The students of Jamia Milia Islamia and Jawaharlal Nehru University were beaten up mercilessly. But Kejriwal had nothing to say. The youth will teach him a lesson.
In Shaheen Bagh protests over CAA-NRC-NPR have reached the sixth week. The battle has intensified in eight seats where minorities are in sizeable numbers. Since the BJP is unlikely to tap voters in these constituencies, how does Congress stand to gain over AAP?
There is no question of minorities; we are for all Indians, irrespective of their religion. Not only Muslims, but also women from other communities are sitting on protest in Shaheen Bagh. Even my wife and daughter sit in solidarity with them. The BJP wants to polarise people and to stop them we have started a movement. But neither Kejriwal nor his deputy Manish Sisodia has bothered to support their stir or speak up for them.
With Congress focusing on connecting with the youth, is the party hoping to spring a surprise and managing a comeback?
Yes, we will make a comeback with a comfortable majority.
Out of the total 70 assembly seats, your party is contesting on 66. What led you to forge an alliance with Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on four seats?
We have a national alliance with RJD. The idea is to show our respect for people from Bihar who come to Delhi and give their sweat and blood to earn a livelihood here. We want to show them our gratitude.
What is your party’s stand on the police falling under the central government, a concern that was often raised by Dikshit and also by Kejriwal?
On the one hand, AAP says Delhi should be given full statehood and the police should come under its jurisdiction. But on the other hand, when a full-fledged state of Jammu and Kashmir was converted into a Union Territory, Kejriwal stood in support of the BJP. So, the voters can well understand AAP’s politics.
