Flags of the BJP and Congress.
Credit: PTI Photos
New Delhi: Punjab Congress leaders on Saturday came to the aid of their Delhi counterparts to target AAP ahead of Assembly elections in the national capital while a group of women staged protests outside Arvind Kejriwal's residence for "unkept" promises, prompting the AAP chief to claim that the Congress and the BJP were in "covert" alliance.
In further deterioration of the relationship between the two I.N.D.I.A allies, Congress treasurer Ajay Maken said he will hold a press conference on Sunday to "further explain" why he described Kejriwal as an "anti-national", a week after AAP warned Congress that it would approach other parties to drop it from the Opposition bloc.
Senior Congress leaders Amarinder Singh Warring and Partap Singh Bajwa from Punjab accused the AAP of not implementing its earlier promise of Rs 1,000 monthly allowance to women and promising Rs 2,100 every month in Delhi. "You have not met the promise in Punjab and are now promising it in Delhi," Warring told reporters.
A group of women claiming to be from Punjab also staged a protest outside Kejriwal's residence protesting against non-implementation of the promise of monthly allowance. They were detained by police later.
When asked about the protest, Kejriwal told a press conference, "These women belong to Congress and BJP, not Punjab. All women in Punjab stand with the AAP. They trust us. The Congress and BJP should officially declare that they are contesting elections against AAP in an alliance. This covert, behind-the-scenes collaboration is unacceptable."
"Why are you taking Congress seriously? People have stopped taking Congress seriously," Kejriwal said.
Congress Media and Publicity Department Chairman Pawan Khera hit back saying, "Why are you (Kejriwal) scared? If you don't want to go among the public, does that mean that other people should also not go? We live among the public. That is why we know what people have suffered in the last 10 years and now the public is ready to answer that."
On December 26, AAP had asked Congress to take action against Maken within 24 hours but after former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's death on the same day, it has been keeping quiet over it. Maken's press conference scheduled for Sunday is likely to reignite the fire.
Earlier, AAP had also accused the Congress of fielding candidates against it in collusion with the BJP. It alleged that the BJP was funding candidates like Sandeep Dikshit against Kejriwal. Dikshit has said that legally move against Chief Minister Atishi and AAP Rajya Sabha floor leader Sanjay Singh, who levelled the allegation.