NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi for the second time in less than a week. While repeatedly dubbed it as “AAP-Da” (disaster) and accused the AAP government of causing severe setbacks to Delhi’s development over the past decade. He stated that since coming to power, the party had unleashed an "AAPDa" on the city.
Seeking to bolster BJP’s prospects in the upcoming Delhi elections, the Prime Minister reassured the public that no welfare schemes currently in place would be discontinued under his party's rule. “No welfare scheme will be stopped in Delhi, but those who have contracts with dishonest people in it will be thrown out,” he asserted, accusing the current government of implementing welfare schemes that exist only on paper. PM Modi went on to criticise AAP for wasting the last decade in constant confrontation with the central government.
In a bid to turn the public sentiment against AAP ahead of polls in the national capital, PM Modi remarked, “There is no account of works done by the AAP-Da government to the people of Delhi, but their (AAP government) exploits and misdeeds are innumerable.” He further charged that the state government’s failure to deliver was a result of a lack of loyalty towards the people of Delhi.
Modi asserted that only the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could ensure real progress for the capital, expressing confidence that voters would hold the “corrupt and anti-development AAP-Da government” thrown out of power for Delhi’s development.
He urged Delhiites to give the BJP a chance to transform the city into a future-ready metropolis.
Addressing a rally in the Rohini area after inaugurating several development initiatives, including the launch of the Namo Bharat Regional Rapid Transit System, Modi reiterated his stance by branding the AAP government as a “disaster” for the city. Emphasizing the potential synergy between the Centre and a BJP-led Delhi government he assured that, “Only when this ‘AAPDa’ is gotten rid of in Delhi, the double-engine of development will come in and develop Delhi,”
Modi underscored the central government's contributions to Delhi’s infrastructure, noting that highways were being developed, the Metro network was being expanded, and major hospitals were being established. “However, the moment you step out of a Metro station, you can see potholed roads and overflowing sewers. Some areas are such that even auto and cab drivers refuse to go there due to long traffic jams,” he lamented, highlighting the deteriorating conditions in the capital.
Modi further said that Delhi had endured a decade under a government that had been nothing short of a disaster. “In the past 10 years, Delhi has witnessed a state government that is no less than an 'AAPDa!' Delhiites have realised this. Only one voice is reverberating in Delhi—‘AAPDa nahi sahenge, badal kar rahenge (will not tolerate disaster, will bring change),’” Modi averred while making a clarion call for change in Delhi.