NEW DELHI: Day after the BJP named her as its candidate for the prized New Delhi Lok Sabha seat, AAP leader and on Sunday launched a fierce attack on Bansuri Swaraj, saying she should tender an apology to the country for her ‘wrongdoings’.
In an unsparing takedown of the BJP leader, who draws her political lineage from her mother, late BJP stalwart and former Union Minister Sushma Swaraj, Atishi said Bansuri, who is also a practising lawyer, represented disgraced cricket administrator and former Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner, Lalit Modi, who is accused of financial irregularities in the country.
Addressing a press conference in the national capital on Sunday, the AAP leader said, “The BJP replaced (Union Minister) Meenakashi Lekhi (from New Delhi) with someone who is known to have argued in court for anti-nationals. Bansuri Swaraj, who is also a lawyer, fought in court for Lalit Modi, who is absconding and is alleged to have fled the country with crores. She represented Lalit Modi in this case, right from the lower court to the Supreme Court. Who defended Lalit Modi in the high court and Supreme Court and who did the latter thank in a social media post for fighting his case?”
She claimed further that Bansuri also represented the BJP government in Manipur in a case involving two tribal women, who were purportedly shown as being paraded in the nude in a viral video last year.
“When (ethnic) violence erupted in Manipur and a video went viral showing two girls being paraded naked, she represented the BJP government in the Supreme Court. How will she seek votes from women in the New Delhi constituency? She (Bansuri) should first apologise to the people of the country for her wrongdoings,” the Delhi Minister said.
Questioning the sitting BJP MPs from the national capital, she claimed they were hardly seen in their constituencies.
Invoking the passage of a draft legislation in Parliament last year outlining and reinforcing the discretionary powers of the Lieutenant Governor (L-G), Atishi said, “What were the sitting BJP MPs doing when Delhi was stripped of its rights? None of their lawmakers, including (cricketer-turned-politician) Gautam Gambhir (who quit politics after being dropped from the BJP’s list of candidates) did anything for the people they represent over the last 5 years. They were happy sitting on the Centre’s lap, leaving the people of their constituencies to fend for themselves.”
Earlier, on Saturday, the BJP named candidates for 195 Lok Sabha seats across 16 states and Union Territories (UTs).
It announced candidates for 5 of the 7 Lok Sabha seats in the national capital, dropping four sitting MPs including Meenakashi Lekhi.
The BJP currently holds all seven Delhi Lok Sabha seats.
The party, however, fielded Bhojpuri superstar and current party MP Manoj Tiwari again from North-East Delhi, Kamaljeet Sehrawat from West Delhi, Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri from South Delhi and Praveen Khandelwal from Chandni Chowk.
Of the five named candidates, only Manoj Tiwari has managed to get a renomination.
Reacting to the BJP’s first list of candidates for the Capital ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Atishi said the ruling party at the Centre brings puts people on the ticket, who neither visit their constituencies not work for the people.
Taking a swipe at the ruling party at the Centre for not repeating candidates in four seats, the AAP leader said, “It has been a pattern with the BJP to give tickets to people who don’t work. Once they complete their tenure, the party would axe them on grounds of non-performance while absolving itself of blame. They bring in new people, who fall into the old pattern.”
Earlier, the AAP and the Congress announced a seat-sharing deal for the national capital, after weeks of haggling and hard-balling from both sides.
As part of the agreement reached between the ruling party in Delhi and the grand old party, Congress will contest 3 of the 7 Lok Sabha seats in the national capital while the AAP will field candidates in the remaining 4 constituencies.
The AAP has since announced Somnath Bharti as its candidate from New Delhi, Sahi Ram Pehalwan from South Delhi and Mahabal Mishra from West Delhi. (ANI)