Meenakshi Lekhi, Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture and two-time MP from New Delhi, believes that the AAP-Congress alliance in Delhi for the Lok Sabha elections is nothing more than a union of the corrupt, which is bound to fail miserably. Though she has not been re-fielded from the New Delhi seat, she says she is determined to serve the people and the party to the best of her capacity. Excerpts from an interview she gave to The Sunday Guardian:
Q: Is the NDA likely to achieve its target of 400 seats in the upcoming parliamentary elections?
A: Absolutely. There is no doubt that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi the NDA is going to cross the 400-seat target set for the coming elections. The people of India want to march towards Viksit Bharat under Modiji’s leadership. BJP’s vote share will only increase in the upcoming elections based on the work accomplished over the past 10 years.
Q: Do you think the INDI Alliance or rival parties have any answer to the Modi government’s women-led development initiatives?
A: The INDI Alliance has no vision for a developed India. It has no answer to the women-led development model of the Narendra Modi government. Even the PM has observed that the country’s progress was never on the Congress agenda. For women, the Modi government has given 10 crore LPG connections and reserved 33% seats for women in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, among many other measures.
Q: Do you see any threat to the BJP from the LS seat-sharing between the AAP and the Congress?
A: “Dalon ke mel se, dilon ka mel nahin hota” (A meeting of the hearts of leaders and supporters of two parties is not guaranteed even if the two outfits come together for a poll pact). These defeated and exhausted individuals have been repeatedly rejected by the people in the Lok Sabha elections. This time too, they will face a resounding defeat. The Congress and AAP are forming alliances to cover up each other’s corruption. It’s like thieves banding together. Their alliance is unethical and impure. The sum of this alliance is zero, indicating no positive outcome.
The Congress decision to join hands with the AAP is a prime example of “kneeling down politics.” The oldest party in the country has only managed to secure 3 out of 7 seats in the capital city. This alliance doesn’t have a leg to stand on. Their primary motive is to blame each other after their inevitable loss in the upcoming elections, as both parties are well aware of their impending defeat.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Delhi, BJP alone secured a 56.86% vote share, while Congress obtained 22.51% and AAP got 18.11%. Even if the vote shares of AAP and Congress are combined, they sum up to 40.62%, which is much less than that of BJP’s.
Q: How has been your experience working with a state government headed by the AAP?
A: I have worked diligently for citizens in the New Delhi constituency but the AAP government has been creating road-blocks in carrying out development works. At many places where I carried out works and got the areas cleared the AAP government and civic agency have brought back encroachers.
Q: AAP often raises the issue of what it calls harassment of its leaders by Central enforcement agencies. How do you see the AAP silence over the alleged corruption by the Congress?
A: Ten years ago, AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal had issued a list of the corrupt people in the Congress and its allies. But today, after 10 years, these two parties are competing to establish which is the more corrupt outfit among the two. Kejriwal’s list of corrupt leaders included Rahul Gandhi, Kapil Sibal, Shushil Shinde, Veerappa Moily, Salman Khurshid, Sharad Pawar and others.
The cases filed by ED and CBI against Kejriwal and AAP ministers are not new. These date back to several years—be it the scam in mohalla clinics, Sheeshmahal (CM residence) renovation case, Delhi liquor policy or school room revamp scam. Kejriwal has been ignoring ED summons as he was waiting for this alliance with Congress to be formalised. Since he knows he will be arrested, he has been waiting for the alliance with Congress to take shape so that he can blame his arrest to the formation of the alliance.