New Delhi, Feb 28 (IANS) The Congress seems to be trying to do a balancing act by keeping the Delhi unit of the party, which is against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), in good humour and at the same time targeting the BJP over the arrest of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia by the CBI in connection with the 2021-22 Delhi excise policy case for the sake of opposition unity.
Party sources revealed on Tuesday that Delhi Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit will meet the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, V.K. Saxena, on Wednesday demanding action against the Arvind Kejriwal-led government. The grounds on which action will be sought have not been disclosed yet.
The development came after differences cropped up between the Delhi unit of Congress and the central party leadership over extending support to Sisodia.
While the Delhi unit of the party welcomed the CBI action, veteran Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday night flayed it, and termed all the probe agencies as “harassment tools” of the BJP-led Central government.
Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said, “We have the moral courage to rise for them (AAP) as opposition is being targeted by the government agencies. But when our leaders were interrogated for days and many in the opposition were also targeted, AAP did not utter a word… I think they did not have courage.”
However, she also said that “when Delhi was reeling under oxygen shortage, the AAP government was formulating liqour policy”.
She added that it was the Congress which had flagged the liquor policy, not the BJP which has seven MPs and more than half-a-dozen MLAs in Delhi.
According to sources, the state leaders are upset after being ‘snubbed’ by Ramesh, with some even privately alleging that the senior Congress leader has a ‘soft corner’ for AAP.
–IANS
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