NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party volunteers protested outside the Congress office in Delhi on Monday, in line with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s recent push to get full statehood for Delhi. The party has planned a series of such protests as a strategy. Every day, AAP workers will surround the offices of political rivals —Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress. According to AAP, both national parties have failed to deliver on their promise of getting full state status.
Scores of protesters marched to the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) office demanding that the party clears its stand on the matter. However, they were stopped midway by the police as the march violated the Model Code of Conduct in effect since Sunday.
Gopal Rai, AAP’s Delhi in-charge said they had police permission but were unable to get clearance from the Election Commission. The launched its mega campaign for the Lok Sabha polls, with full statehood as its central theme, by staging a protest near the BJP headquarters on Sunday.
On the issue of full statehood, Rai said the AAP will burn the BJP’s manifesto for the 2013 Assembly elections that advocated the demand.“The BJP has been misleading people. It promised full statehood for Delhi in the 2013 but did not keep its promise. To protest that, we will burn the manifesto,” workers said.