AAP seeks public views on government formation
New Delhi – Playing the waiting game, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday formally announced that it will seek the opinion of the citizens of Delhi on whether they should form the next government in Delhi with Congress’ support.
To send the message across to the electorate, AAP has prepared a letter addressed to the people detailing the circumstances and has asked them to vote for or against government formation. 25 lakh copies of the letter will be distributed across the city.
Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal said that people can register their response by sending an (Yes/No) SMS to 08806110335. Alternatively, they can log on to the website aamaadmiparty.org or their Facebook page to register their vote.
Kejriwal also announced that AAP will hold one public meeting in each municipal ward in the city and solicit response.
He said that the entire process will be completed by Sunday, following which they will meet Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung on December 23 (Monday) and apprise him of their final stand on the issue.
Earlier, Kejriwal hit out at the Congress and the BJP over their respective response to the 18-point letter send by AAP.
“We are not in politics for power; we are Aam Janta, that’s why we felt that if the government is to be formed then it should have the consent of other parties on issues concerning the common man,” Kejriwal said.
Congress and BJP have united against AAP, he claimed.
The decision to seek people’s view on government formation was taken after a meeting of the newly elected MLAs of the Aam Aadmi Party and separate meeting of AAP’s political affairs committee.
The development comes a day after Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung recommended President’s Rule in the state. The single biggest party, BJP, with 31 seats had expressed its inability to form a government citing lack of numbers in the 70-member Delhi assembly.
Prior to the elections and also immediately after the results were declared on December 08, AAP had maintained that it will neither offer support to BJP or Congress nor would it take support from them.
However, its spectacular show in the elections appears to have made the party rethink its strategy on the issue.
AAP had sent identical letters to Sonia Gandhi and Rajnath Singh and sought assurances that both parties will back 18 points if the AAP were to form a government and end the capital’s political stalemate.
While the Congress responded to the letter saying that 16 of the 18 points AAP has raised in a bid to form a government in Delhi needed no legislative backing and the other two issues – support for a Jan Lokpal bill and full statehood for Delhi – were outside the purview of the Delhi government.
The BJP has not yet responded to Kejriwal’s letter.
