Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday blamed Rahul Gandhi for failing to form an alliance of AAP and Congress against the BJP adding that it will be the 48-year-old Congress chief who will be responsible if PM Modi comes back to power.
Referring to Gandhi’s tweet in which he accused the AAP chief of taking a “U-turn” on alliance talks, Kejriwal said, “I want to ask Rahul Gandhi, which alliance is formed on Twitter?”
“If Modi and (BJP chief) Amit Shah return to power, only one person will be responsible – Rahul Gandhi,” Kejriwal told reporters in New Delhi after releasing the party’s manifesto.
Kejriwal said that his party would have left all the seven seats in Delhi for Congress but “the Congress cannot win even a single seat in Delhi”. He said that it was AAP was in a better position to defeat the BJP in Delhi.
“They don’t have an intention (to forge an alliance). For the past two months we have been trying for an alliance,” Kejriwal alleged.
The Delhi CM said that PM Modi is weakening the opposition in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Goa, Chandigarh and Haryana.
On 15 April, accusing Kejriwal of taking a “U-turn”, Gandhi tweeted that the Congress is still willing to give 4 seats of the 7 Lok Sabha seats in Delhi to the AAP.
“An alliance between the Congress & AAP in Delhi would mean the rout of the BJP. The Congress is willing to give up 4 Delhi seats to the AAP to ensure this,” he said in the tweet.
“But, Mr Kejriwal has done yet another U turn! Our doors are still open, but the clock is running out,” tweeted Gandhi adding the hashtag “#AbAAPkiBaari” indicating that he was putting the ball in the AAP’s court.
An alliance between the Congress & AAP in Delhi would mean the rout of the BJP. The Congress is willing to give up 4 Delhi seats to the AAP to ensure this.
But, Mr Kejriwal has done yet another U turn!
Our doors are still open, but the clock is running out. #AbAAPkiBaari
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 15, 2019
Responding to his tweet, Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, shot back accusing Gandhi of not showing an intention of forming an alliance and dividing the anti-Modi votes in UP and other states.
“What U-turn? The talks were on. Your tweet shows that you are not interested in the gathbandhan (alliance). I am disappointed that you are issuing statements in this manner. Today saving the nation from Modi-Shah is of prime importance. The tragedy is that you are creating a divide in the anti-Modi votes in UP and other states thereby helping Modi-ji,” tweeted Kejriwal.
कौन सा U-टर्न?अभी तो बातचीत चल रही थी
आपका ट्वीट दिखाता है कि गठबंधन आपकी इच्छा नहीं मात्र दिखावा है।मुझे दुःख है आप बयान बाज़ी कर रहे हैं
आज देश को मोदी-शाह के ख़तरे से बचाना अहं है।दुर्भाग्य कि आप UP और अन्य राज्यों में भी मोदी विरोधी वोट बाँट कर मोदी जी की मदद कर रहे हैं https://t.co/9jnYXJFA0S
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) April 15, 2019
Both Congress and AAP have fielded candidates on all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi. The announcement of names was done after a long delay.
Kejriwal was insistent that a Congress-AAP alliance is extended to Haryana and Punjab but the grand old party was willing for a tie-up only in Delhi.
Delhi will witness voting on 12 May in the sixth phase of Lok Sabha elections. All seven seats are currently held by the BJP.
In its 35-page manifesto, AAP said that it will secure full statehood for the state.