As talks between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal (United) (JDU) about an alliance for the Delhi polls gather pace, the Nitish Kumar-led party on Tuesday joined the BJP’s attack on AAP national coordinator Arvind Kejriwal for allegedly accusing him. Derogatory remarks against Biharis and Purvanchalis.
In a press conference at the party’s Jantar Mantar office, the JDU played an alleged video of Kejriwal from the Covid era where he is heard saying that people from Bihar come to Delhi on a ticket of Rs 500 and return with free healthcare of Rs 5. million
JDU Working President Sanjay Kumar Jha said, “These days we often hear about Kejriwal’s love for Bihar and the East. But see what he said in the video. During the covid period, he forced people from Bihar and Purvanchal into buses and dumped them at the Delhi border. People were driven from the city. On the other hand, Nitish Kumar deposited money in the accounts of everyone stranded in Delhi. Food camps were organized to feed the people.”
Singh also asserted that the JDU will contest the Delhi elections in alliance with the BJP. “The negotiation of seat distribution is ongoing. But we will compete with the BJP,” he said.
BJP sources said that while the JDU was seeking tickets on three seats, two other NDA allies — Chirag Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) (LJP) and Jayant Chaudhary’s Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) — were also seeking a share. Three each according to one formula among the capital’s 70 assembly constituencies
The JDU, in alliance with the BJP, contested the 2020 Delhi Assembly elections from the East-dominated Burari and Sangam Vihar seats; RLD from Burari; and LJP from Kirari, Bijwasan Laxminagar, Seemapuri and Mustafabad.
Former party chief and Union Minister Rajeev Ranjan Singh said the party would go on a Delhi-wide campaign with the alleged video and “expose” Kejriwal before the elections.
Look at the language used by Kejriwal for the East. Is Delhi his personal property? It is the national capital. Kejriwal is a hypocrite and an opportunist. He is not even a politician. He is an employee with political ambitions. He said that BJP is against the eastern region. There is no one who opposes the East like you. You ruined Delhi. By distributing revenue, the state with revenue surplus has been turned into a deficit state,’ said Singh.
The JDU outcry came in the wake of a row over BJP president JP Nadda’s alleged statement in the Rajya Sabha that AAP claimed was against easterners.
Accusing the BJP of conspiring to “deprive the East Delhi community of their dignity and voting rights”, Kejriwal on Friday attacked Nadda for making “aggressive” comments against the community in Parliament.
“Just two days ago, BJP President Nadda made deeply objectionable comments against Eastern community In Parliament. He compared easterners living in Delhi to Rohingya squatters and Bangladeshis and said BJP workers were filling forms to remove their names from the electoral roll,” Kejriwal alleged.
After playing a purported video in which Nadda can be seen speaking, Kejriwal added, “We strongly condemn this act and consider it a well-planned conspiracy against the entire community. On one hand, BJP leaders refer to easterners as ‘Rohingya’ and Bangladeshi. On the other, they try to take away their citizenship. .”
The BJP has been attacking Kejriwal for repeatedly saying that people from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Haryana said Delhi’s border hospitals and schools were under “huge pressure from outsiders”.
JDU’s Singh said on Tuesday that Nadda’s comments were made in reference to the Rohingyas and not the Pravanchals.
Meanwhile, BJP sources said each of its NDA allies had sought a share of seats from specific constituencies based on demographics.
“While the JDU is understood to be asking for Burari among the three eastern-majority seats, the RLD is asking for a seat in Jat-dominated West or South Delhi and the LJP for one of the 12 SC-reserved seats in the city. The final decision will be taken by our national leaders and in the coming days Their counterparts in the three NDA parties will be informed,” said a BJP leader.
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