BJP accuses AAP governmnet of favouring Bangladeshis, Rohingyas in ration card distribution; AAP says nonsense

BJP MP Gautam Gambhir on Thursday said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is doing in Delhi what Mamata Banerjee did in West Bengal, and alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) favoured Bangladeshis and Rohingyas while issuing ration cards for vote-bank politics.

The East Delhi MP also questioned the 'seriousness' of the AAP government in tackling the problems of the city, alleging that officials of the Public Works Department (PWD) were absent from a meeting of the Committee on Urban Development that discussed the issue of waterlogging in the national capital.

Senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh termed Gambhir's remarks "nonsense" and also alleged he was lying over the PWD absence in the parliamentary standing committee meeting.

At a joint press conference, Gambhir and Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Bidhuri alleged that the Delhi government's Mukhya Mantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojana is just a name change of the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana.

Gambhir alleged that in the past six years "not a single deserving" person was issued a ration card and added that migrant workers left the city during pandemic as they did not get ration.

"When ration cards are to be issued to illegal migrants Bangladeshi and Rohingyas, the AAP is ahead of everyone because they want to do vote bank politics. What Mamata Banerjee is doing in Bengal, Kejriwal is doing in Delhi," he alleged.

Raising the issue of waterlogging, the cricketer-turned-politician said the Delhi Chief Minister should be serious about issues plaguing the city.

“I am just coming from a Urban Development committee meeting where the waterlogging in Delhi was discussed. The PWD was not there, this is how serious Kejriwal and his agency are," he charged.

Singh, replying to Gautam on Twitter, said he was lying as PWD was not called for the meeting.

"Gautam Gambhir ji issuing any statement about parliamentary standing committee meeting beyond it is contempt, only the chairman has power to do so. Still I did not expect you to lie. The truth is the PWD was not invited. Should it have reached there on its own?" he tweeted in Hindi.

The BJP leaders said the party will launch an agitation if people are not issued ration cards in Delhi.

"The Delhi government should immediately start providing ration cards to the 10 lakh poor people in the capital. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal himself had said on April 6 this year said that 10 lakh non-ration cardholders of Delhi would be given free ration," Bidhuri said.

The Delhi government had earlier said that it will provide free ration to people including over 17 lakh cardholders till November. The government has also been providing free ration to nearly 30 lakh people not having ration cards during the pandemic, it had said.

The Chief Minister announced Mukhya Mantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojna earlier this week, for doorstep delivery of ration to card-holders. The scheme will come into effect in next 6-7 months, he said.