Taking a jibe at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel’s announcement to quit electoral politics, Delhi Congress President Devender Yadav said on Thursday that his decision not to seek re-election is to escape the “sinking ship”.
Commenting on Goel’s decision ahead of the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections, he said the speaker acted on expected lines as the AAP “ministers and senior leaders were either joining other political parties or quitting politics sensing an impending defeat of Arvind Kejriwal in the 2025 Assembly elections”.
Stating that Goel saw no point in contesting the election on an AAP ticket as people’s “ire” against the party was all too evident, Yadav said, “His decision not to seek re-election is to escape the sinking ship.”
Attacking former chief minister and AAP’s national convener, Yadav said, “Kejriwal functions in a dictatorial manner, flouting all the rules and regulations.”
The Delhi Congress chief further said Goel’s position as speaker was put in a “piquant situation” by Kejriwal and incumbent Chief Minister Atishi after they refused to table the pending 12 Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports despite Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena’s direction to the Speaker.
Earlier, Yadav said Kejriwal and AAP MLAs are looking for “safe” seats to contest the upcoming Assembly elections. “Kejriwal and AAP MLAs have accepted defeat even before the announcement of the date of the Delhi Assembly elections. Most of them have decided to desert their sitting seats and look for safe Assemblies,” he added.