AAP has ruined city, time for Kejriwal to go: Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva

This election is to save Delhi, make it pollution free, corruption free. The people want pothole-free roads, freedom from poor sanitation and dirty water.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva
Delhi BJP president Virendra SachdevaFile photo
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3 min read

Accusing the ruling AAP of stalling the development in the national capital, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva asserts that it is his party at the Centre that had worked to spruce up infrastructure in the city. He tells Parvez Sultan the BJP is all set wrest power in Delhi after 27 years. Excerpts:

How confident are you to end political exile of the BJP in Delhi?

There is no doubt that the BJP will form government because trust, the people of Delhi reposed in AAP, has shattered. In the last 12 years, the AAP has done nothing, failed on many fronts; be it air pollution or Yamuna cleaning.

This election is to save Delhi, make it pollution free, corruption free. The people want pothole-free roads, freedom from poor sanitation and dirty water. They are fed up with inflated electricity bills. The combo of AAP and the Congress has ruined the city. Arvind Kejriwal, who promised to eliminate corruption, plotted looting of public money through liquor scam. He wasted crores of rupess on the redevelopment of his official bungalow.

On the contrary, development initiated under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi speaks volumes. Had there been no peripheral expressway, Delhi-Mumbai, Meerut Expressway or Pragati Maidan tunnel, what would have been the fate of the city? The Centre launched Ayushman Bharat scheme, which the Delhi government didn’t implement.

The double-engine will implement all Central government schemes, which were stopped by this AAPda government. This election will decide the fate of the national capital. The coming election will decide how will Delhi look after 50 years? To make it a better place to live, a BJP government is required in Delhi.

There has been a general complaint from the AAP that the BJP-led Central government doesn’t allow the Delhi government to function. Your response.

Can the AAP and its leaders, including Kejriwal, tell us what development their government had carried out in Delhi? How has expansion of Delhi Metro undertaken? PM Narendra Modi recently laid the foundation of Rithala-Kundli corridor. This should have been done a year before. But the AAP government was reluctant in giving approvals and giving funds. Part of Delhi-Mumbai Express, near Meethapur, was stuck because of the state government.

The Rapid Rail project was hanging fire as funds were not being provided. After the Supreme Court reprimanded the AAP government, some funds were released. This government places obstacles in the Central government schemes so that people of Delhi don’t get their benefits. However, the Centre is giving affordable houses to eligible individuals.

It is their habit to blame BJP and its government for their failure. When the AAP government couldn’t provide quality drinking water, Kejriwal said that Haryana is giving poisonous water to Delhi. However, he has been exposed once again. Everyone knows that Haryana gives water to Delhi as per the standards, but it is Kejriwal’s negligence - about 42 untreated drains merged with Yamuna thus pollute its water.

What are the main issues in this election?

Since the AAP is in power, everything in the city has become an issue. This AAP has turned into AAPda (disaster). Delhi has attained the status of world’s most polluted city, half an hour of rains killing dozens of people, broken roads, dirty potable water, and false promises have multiplied the sufferings of people of Delhi. But Kejriwal is not affected at all with our misery, he built ‘Sheesh Mahal’; a grand palace to live for himself. People are forced to live in unsanitary conditions. Corruption is one issue. The reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) state that AAP caused a loss of over Rs 2,000 crore to the Delhi exchequer in the liquor scam but that had not been tabled in the Assembly.

BJP has made many poll promises. Why?

There is no change in our approach. There is a difference in their freebies and our ‘Sankalp Patra’ (manifesto). What we had promised in other states has been fulfilled. In our schemes, budget allocation is improved. Wherever we have implemented schemes, we have made proper provisions for the budget also for public welfare.

Why did BJP take long time to finalise candidates?

The party has carefully selected candidates. We are fully geared up. Our preparations started soon after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Our workers are on the ground. They are energised and ready to defeat this AAPda government.

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