Vinesh Phogat addresses a press conference in New Delhi.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Olympian and Congress MLA from Haryana Vinesh Phogat accused the BJP and AAP on Friday of indulging in "vote-bank" politics ahead of the Delhi Assembly Elections 2025, and said it is only the country's oldest political party that fulfils its promises made to people.
Addressing a press conference here, Phogat said former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit was the first to implement the Jat OBC reservation in the capital.
"The Congress has always stood with every section of the society. When the BJP brought three central farm laws, (AAP supremo and former Delhi chief minister) Arvind Kejriwal was the first to gave his nod to those. They are against farmers, Jats and Dalits. They only indulge in vote-bank politics," the wrestler-turned politician said.
In Haryana, the ruling BJP had promised to give Rs 2,100 each to women per month, but it has been three months since the Assembly polls were held in the state and the amount is yet to be paid, Phogat said.
Similarly, the AAP had promised to give Rs 1,000 per month to every woman in Punjab, but the promise has not been honoured even after three years of the party coming to power in the state, she added.
Phogat accused the BJP and AAP of paying lip service regarding Jat reservation for political gains in the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls and not having any genuine concern for the welfare of the community.
Both the parties are playing with the sentiments of the Jats, she alleged.
The Congress, on the other hand, has fulfilled all its promises made in any state, Phogat said, adding that if Delhiites want development, they should once again repose their faith in the grand old party.
She claimed that bereft of any original ideas, the BJP and AAP are doing a copy-paste job of the guarantees given by the Congress for the Delhi election, while her party has fulfilled its promises in the states where it is in power -- Karnataka, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh and Jharkhand.
Polling for the 70-member Delhi Assembly is scheduled to be held on February 5 and the votes will be counted on February 8.
The contest is being seen as a straight fight between the AAP, in power in the capital since 2015, and the BJP, with the Congress trying hard to regain its lost ground in the city, which it ruled for 15 uninterrupted years till 2013.