What the BJP government at the Centre has been doing in the last seven months is “frightening,” says former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, referring to the way the Modi-led government was adopti
What the BJP government at the Centre has been doing in the last seven months is “frightening,” says former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, referring to the way the Modi-led government was adopting the ordinance route and the “communal atmosphere” in the country.
Ms Dikshit also admitted that her party had during the last Assembly election “underestimated” the Aam Aadmi Party, which had decimated the Congress after three successive 5-year terms in the national capital.
Holding the BJP responsible for the “communal atmosphere” in the country, the 76-year-old senior Congress leader said programmes such as “Ghar Wapsi” and other activities of certain right-wing outfits have sparked off tension among minorities, which was “extremely worrying.”
“It may not be fair to say whether they have done good or bad. But some of the things they have done are frightening like taking the ordinance route. Then what is the need for Parliament Have achche din really come Look at the communal atmosphere that has been created. It is frightening,” Ms Dikshit told an agency in an interview.
Ms Dikshit, who was the chief minister of Delhi from 1998 to 2013, said the communal harmony in Delhi was also affected after the NDA came to power at the Centre. “Delhi witnessed riots after 16-17 years and we had a church being burnt.”
Admitting that the Congress had underestimated the AAP in the 2013 Assembly polls, she said a “feeling of fatigue” could have also played a part in the Congress electoral drubbing. The Congress had managed to win only eight seats in the 70-member Assembly last time.
“We underestimated (Arvind) Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party in the last elections,” Ms Dikshit said, claiming that the Congress was better prepared this time to face the elections. The AAP had made a dream debut winning 28 seats in the polls in December 2013.
Asked about the controversy following her reported comments on the possibility of the Congress supporting the AAP in case of a hung verdict once again, Ms Dikshit said her party will never ever support “communal BJP” and she only stated as a matter of fact what the party did after the last Assembly elections.
“I never said the Congress will support the AAP. I only said party will not support a communal party, which is the BJP,” she said.
