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Congress leader Ajay Maken on Tuesday criticized Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal over allegations regarding Delhi's water supply, stating that if the former Chief Minister's claims are false, it amounts to "treason."
Maken's remarks came in response to Kejriwal's statement on Monday, in which he alleged that Delhi's water supply had been "poisoned" and accused the Haryana government of planning a "genocide" against Delhi residents. "If Arvind Kejriwal is lying about mixing poison in the water, it is treason," Maken said in a press conference, adding that the statements made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Haryana and Kejriwal must be investigated. "If the Haryana government is wrong, action should be taken. If Arvind Kejriwal is spreading rumours, action should be taken against him," Maken said. Shifting focus to the disparity in the sex ratio in north Indian states, Maken attributed the issue to female foeticide. He highlighted former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's Ladli scheme, which provided financial aid to girl children as a deterrent against female foeticide. "In order to deter the incidents of female foeticide, Sheila Dikshit introduced 'Ladli Yojana' that gained traction across the globe. As per this scheme, the family of a newborn girl will be provided financial aid worth Rs 10,000. Not only this, Rs 5,000 was given to the family of the girl at the time of admission into first standard and the same amount was given each time when the girl child entered class sixth, ninth, 10th, and 12th. The financial aid worth Rs 1 lakh was given to the girl child when she turned 18," Maken said. During the press conference, Maken presented a slideshow titled "AAP ke Paap" (The Sins of AAP), claiming that the condition of all the schemes initiated by Sheila Dikshit for girls had deteriorated under the AAP government. He pointed to the findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, which alleged that the Delhi government withheld benefits worth Rs 618 crore meant for over 3.2 lakh girls. "Kejriwal has done injustice to the girl child of Delhi. He has ruined all the beneficial schemes for girls. He talks about giving Rs 2100 to women but the benefit that the girls were already getting has been stopped. The AAP government has withheld Rs 618 crore of the benefit to be given to more than 3,20,000 girls, all these revelations have been made in the CAG report," Maken said. Maken also commented on the support extended by Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and other INDIA bloc parties to AAP ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections. He urged the INDIA bloc allies to recognize that only Congress could effectively fight the BJP, and they should not weaken the party. The Delhi Assembly elections are scheduled for February 5, with the counting of votes set for February 8. A total of 699 candidates are contesting for 70 assembly seats in the national capital. The Congress, which held power in Delhi for 15 consecutive years, has faced major setbacks in the last two assembly elections, failing to win any seats. In contrast, AAP dominated the 2015 and 2020 assembly elections, securing 67 and 62 seats, respectively, out of 70, while BJP won only three and eight seats in these elections.(ANI)
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