JOIN USCong tom-toms its city record
Aiming at an unprecedented fourth straight victory in the upcoming Assembly polls, Delhi Congress on Wednesday released a dossier listing achievements of the Sheila Dikshit government in the past 15 years.
Making clear that the ruling party will contest the polls on the development plank, Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee President J P Agarwal, party’s election incharge Shakeel Ahmed and Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit released the compendium highlighting the city’s “transformation” here.
“It is to remind people about the development that has taken place in the city in the past 15 years of Congress rule. To remind the youth, who would have been three years old when Congress came to power and have now turned 18, that how the city has transformed and what are the achievements of the Congress rule,” Dikshit said.
The dossier focuses on infrastructure and social security schemes under the Dikshit government to emphasise that development is “very much” visible in the capital. Congress claimed that “it has brought Delhi from the dark age in 1997 to a city of 24-hour power”, brought down unemployment rate and improved per capita income, performance of state-run schools and health care facilities. “It shows our intentions,” said Dikshit.
Putting up a united front, Congress leaders took on BJP and Aam Aadmi Party. “It is very easy to criticise the government but I can make it clear that Congress is not a party which has come up overnight and also there is no infighting in the party like our main opposition,” said Agarwal.
“Our main opposition is divided into pieces and they doesn’t even have a leader as the party’s face for this election,” he added.
Expressing hope
Congress incharge of the Assembly election Shakeel Ahmed expressed hope that Congress will come to power for the fourth consecutive term. He said the Congress government has almost fulfilled all its promises made in the last election manifesto, and the credit goes to the Diskhit government. But some promises that are left out will be included in this year’s election manifesto, he said.
“Congress president Sonia Gandhi has formed a manifesto implementation committee,” Ahmed said.
On reports of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi asking for applications from probable candidates, Ahmed said he was not aware of any such procedure.The Assembly polls in the city are slated for November. Dikshit is set to lead the campaign again.
The party said the Food Security Bill was first introduced in Delhi and 73 lakh people will benefit. Besides, the government has been running Annashree Yojna, Bhagidari Atta scheme, Jan Aahar scheme, Aap Ki Rasoi and a kerosene-free Delhi.
Highlighting the city’s economic progress, the dossier said that during the Congress regime, the growth rate was above nine per cent and between 2006 and 2011 it has been 11.61 per cent annually.