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AAP should realise inconvenience caused to common man: Congress

Congress slams AAP for inconvenience caused to common man due to its 'theatrics'.
New Delhi: Upping the ante against AAP, Congress said it should look within and realise the inconvenience caused to common man due to its "theatrics and drama" of agitation in central Delhi.
Party General Secretary Digvijay Singh asked Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal why he sent AAP leader Yogendra Yadav to negotiate with Lt Governor Najeeb Jung to end the agitation despite insisting he won't do so. Delhi PCC chief Arvinder Singh Lovely and CLP leader Haroon Yusuf will be meeting Jung tomorrow to press for the resignation of some state ministers including Law Minister Somnath Bharti and Rakhi Birla.
Party spokesperson Randip Surjewala, however, remained tighlipped when asked about the reasons behind the meeting saying, "Local unit is meeting the LG tomorrow. We will wait for their representation."
Asked whether Congress, which is supporting the Kejriwal government from outside, would seek the resignation of the chief minister after his street protest, Surjewala replied in negative. "There is no such demand," he said, adding Congress will not rush towards any decision of withdrawing support or seeking the chief minister's resignation.
"Theatrics and drama, use of irresponsible and intimidating language and flagrant violation of law and Constitution have no place in our democratic polity," he said, asking AAP leaders to "look within" to find out the "insurmountable inconvenience" the common man faced due to disruption of traffic and the near-obstruction of Republic Day celebration on January 26.
Speaking separately Singh said, "Kejriwal said that they will not negotiate. It's not a grocery shop. But ultimately they did negotiate. Yogendra Yadav negotiated with the LG," and wondered whether to trust their words further or not. Another party spokesperson Sandip Dikshit said the "agitation drama was staged by AAP to take away people's attention from other issues, they were not able to address".

Dikshit also alleged that AAP government is acting as "VIP government". "This is not a fight between AAP and Congress. This is a drama that has been put up by AAP basically to take away the people's attention from all other issues that they have not been able to address.

"Clearly what their two ministers did was in terms of subverting justice and trying to bring in political executive pressure on the purely police administrative decision," the Congress spokesperson said.

Terming as "wrong", he said this kind of "vigilante justice" cannot be permitted in a multi-party political system because one cannot depend on the "whims" of a particular person. Mocking Kejriwal over the agitation and its subsequent withdrawal, Singh said, "It was an absolute face saver. They had said everyone should be suspended and they agreed finally on the issue of three cops going on leave. One was already on leave. I think it was a face saver for them."

Kejriwal was agitating over the demand for suspension of five officials for alleged dereliction of duty. Surjewala also congratulated Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and the LG for their success in bringing to an end the stalemate with their "measured and reasonable" handling of the situation.

Asked about possibility of resignation of Bharti over the controversy surrounding his tiff with police and subsequent registration of an FIR over his midnight raid, Singh said it depends on the minister's conscience and Kejriwal's decision.

"That is his conscience. Arvind Kejriwal says that I do not accept anyone, no conscience, no law, nothing for him. Only what Kejriwal says is true... Kejriwal has no respect for law and the rules as such," he said.

"He (Kejriwal) wants an answer from everyone. But he is an exception and will not answer anybody. Now there is a court order that agitations should not be held except at Jantar Mantar. In spite of that, the chief minister violated the court directive," Singh said.

"Under what law has the law minister got a right to go and raid a house or force a woman to undergo a test. There is a law of the land, which has to be followed. If the law minister does follow the law, there will be anarchy.

"Delhi Police should act against the law minister because he had intervened in the functioning of the police and there are provisions in law that anyone who interferes that ways is liable to be prosecuted. Why should Delhi Police not file a case against him," Singh said.

On the same issue, Dikshit said the law minister is "in serious trouble" if the law takes its own course. "I think he is resigning and the court and Delhi Police should take action especially on the complaint of the girl. I think law must take its own course. If law takes its own course, Bharti is in serious trouble," he said.

Dikshit also said the drama of agitation was done so to ensure that the police won't take any action in normal course. Surjewala said AAP should introspect that whether they need to rectify their behaviour, language as well as the way of functioning.

"We will have patience. The support to a government does not dependent on any single issue. There is no decision about withdrawal of support till today but there is no doubt we are disappointed with their conduct," a party leader said on the condition of anonymity.

( Source : PTI )
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