Delhi model under scanner

Now that the Aam Admi Party has formed a government in neighbouring Punjab, Delhiites are going to be very harsh on Kejriwal because comparisons are going to be made.

The double standards between the promises made by the Aam Admi Party in Punjab and its priorities in Delhi where it has been ruling for seven years has already been highlighted during the Punjab elections but now that the people have given a massive mandate to the party the impact of this double-faced party could have been evident in the now postponed MCD elections.

Kejriwal has gone to Supreme Court and claimed that its earlier survey showed it was going to capture 250 out of 272 seats which will now cross 260 seats because of the Delhi model.

But what precisely is the Delhi Model, if there is one?

Talking to National Herald, senior Congress leader Hari Shankar Gupta says,”What is the Delhi model? If you are talking about the freebies like Rs.1000 in every woman’s account or cheaper electricity and water, every political party promised freebies in the recent elections to five state assemblies.”

He said that if there was a specific Delhi model it was the new liquor policy of Kejriwal which had opened up residential areas to the menace of easy accessibility of liquor in five-star style to the accompaniment of DJ.

“The Congress in its tenure during Sheila Dikshit tenure had controlled sale of liquor and kept residential areas out. Our local market centres were meant for supplying essential items like bread,milk,school stationery and medicines. Now they have added liquor to it so that any child going to buy essential items will be exposed to the liquor culture,” Gupta said.

He alleged that health infrastructure had totally collapsed. They have not built any new hospitals and except for a few Mohalla clinics the rest were in doldrums.Same for their much-touted schools. They have set up five new schools at exorbitant rents to show off but the others were in worse shape than ever and short on teachers.

“There were 32 lakh ration cards for the poor during our tenure but in the so-called Aam Admi Party rule there are just 13 lakh ration cards,” he said.

Yet another veteran Delhi Congress leader Anil Mittar said,”Delhi is in in doldrums. It’s roads, sewerage and health services are pathetic while the Aam Aadmi Party is busy opening liquor shops all over the city. But people are coming out on the roads to protest and Kejriwal will pay the price for this.”

He disclosed that the Delhi Congress was actively engaged in increasing its membership as per directions from top leaders.

“We have been told to go from door to door and make members in the digital mode.We have been asked to check if the person has a genuine voter ID card before enrolling him and we have to take a selfie with the new member. Each enrolled is expected to make a minimum of 1,000 members” he said.

This is different from the system followed by the BJP and AAP that make members on the basis of missed calls.

Vijender Gupta, leader of Opposition in the Delhi assembly says, “The Delhi model is a total failure. Health, education and the state of river Yamuna is for all to see. The biggest scam during its tenure is the transport scam which he had taken the government to court and a now CBI inquiry is on.”

Elaborating, he says, “They have quietly privatised the DTC to favour their favourites.The original fleet of 5400 DTC buses with the Corporation is in bad. They are running only repaired buses from the old fleet and new buses have been introduced with shady procedure that is under CBI inquiry at my initiative while the DTC suffers a loss of Rs. 1,000 crores annually.”

Yet another common issue in Delhi is about dirty and contaminated water but no one seems to be taking responsibility for it.

A senior Hindi journalist said that it was strange that even the Centre was not getting the water quality of Delhi checked which is supplied by the Delhi Jal Board while the residents of the capital are forced to bathe in dirty, stinking water.

(This was first published in National Herald on Sunday)