The Congress may have suffered a crushing defeat in the recently-concluded Delhi assembly elections, Union Minister Kapil Sibal fails to see this as a warning sign for the party in the upcoming General Elections.
In an exclusive interview with Zee News Editor Sudhir Chaudhary, he said that the support his party gave to the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi was important to allow voters to see the truth behind the lofty pre-poll promises made by Arvind Kejriwal.
The Union Minister for Communications and IT said he does not rue support given by the Congress to the AAP, and added, “It was the decision of the party’s state body. A fledgling party can only bag 28 seats in an assembly constituency when the voter believes that it can deliver the goods. So why not give them a chance?
We said — if you can give free water, slash electricity rates by half, create 62,000 jobs and establish a special force to protect women — and all this only in a matter of days, then go ahead and form a government, we’ll support you.”
A month has passed since the formation of Arvind Kejriwal-led government and Sibal feels the voters have already begun to see the truth behind AAP’s promises. He said, “Till today, they haven’t delivered on any of their promises. Instead of slashing electricity tariffs, they created a slab of 200 and 400 units. Instead of free water, they set a limit of 666 litres. Anyone can sell dreams - some sell it on the roads, others on the dais. But now the people will see how they promised a lot and delivered nothing.”
After taking support from the Congress, the Delhi ministers have gone on a dharna against the policies of Congress-led UPA government. When asked how it feels to see elected representatives sitting on a dharna against prohibitory laws, Sibal said, “There are certain principles that a democracy runs on and these are sacrosanct. Those who should be protecting the threads of democracy are instead shredding it to bits”.
