NEW DELHI: Delhi BJP leaders sought to play down the protests held at Jantar Mantar on Friday against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities related to the SIR of electoral rolls as a bid by AAP to conceal its poor standing ahead of the Punjab state elections.
Reacting sharply to the stir, Delhi BJP chief Harsh Malhotra dismissed it as a “drama” and remarked that the agitation had nothing to do with safeguarding democracy.
“So AAP staged a protest in Delhi with some communist parties. But neither the youth nor other ordinary citizens turned up. The gathering consisted of only 500 to 600 AAP workers and leaders.
And they had assembled without permission,” he added, while holding the protesters responsible for the disruptions in traffic and metro services.
Malhotra also dredged up alleged scams that haunted AAP rule in Delhi, saying, “These are the very people who indulged in corruption in Delhi for 10 years and were involved in the liquor scam,” he said.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor echoed those sentiments, saying, “Despite their best efforts, AAP leaders failed to bring ordinary youth or regular Delhi residents to today’s protest.” AAP’s protest was driven by its political frustration, he added.
‘Nothing to do with democracy’
BJP chief Harsh Malhotra dismissed it as a “drama” and remarked that the agitation had nothing to do with safeguarding democracy. He also blamed them for traffic disruptions.