New Delhi [India], September 22 : Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Devender Yadav launched a scathing attack on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi, questioning her suitability for the Chief Minister's post.
Yadav criticised Atishi's tenure as Minister, alleging dereliction of duty and suggesting her past performance does not inspire confidence in her ability to lead effectively.
Atishi was sworn in as Delhi Chief Minister along with five other party leaders on Saturday.
He said that Kejriwal destroyed Delhi in every possible manner in the past 10 years, and it was futile to expect his successor, Atishi, to do any better, as her performance as a minister has been below par.
He said that Atishi had washed her hands off when the national capital got waterlogged, and many people died due to drowning and electrocution, as neither the PWD nor the MCD could salvage the situation in the absence of any desilting work before the monsoon, leaving the people to their own fate.
Devender Yadav said that Atishi has inherited Kejriwal's legacy of corruption, mismanagement, and incompetence, and even residents of her own Assembly, Kalkaji, are sceptical about her performing any better in the next few months.
Devender Yadav said that the Congress party's best wishes are with her for her elevation as the Chief Minister, but it defies logic what kind of remarkable transformation she could bring to Delhi in the coming four-five months, as she had always run away from her responsibilities, blaming the Lt. Governor and the officials for the serious lapses of her own ministry.
He said that when people were thirsting for every drop of drinking water, she chose to sit on a "dharna," which was a publicity student, instead of taking up the matter with the Haryana Government to release more water into the Yamuna, though the truth was that she had failed to prevent water theft, loss, and the hold of the tanker mafia in controlling water distribution to colonies dominated by the poor and the common people.
Devender Yadav said that Kejriwal had made lofty promises like clearing the three garbage mountains by January 31, 2023 if the Aam Aadmi Party came to power in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, but now the deadline has been extended to December 2028!
Devender Yadav said that for two years, after AAP won the MCD election, the Corporation was in a defunct state, without constituting the ward committees and the Standing Committee, as AAP wasted time in litigation with the Lt. Governor on flimsy grounds, without putting the MCD work on track.
Yadav said that Atishi was a failure as Education Minister as government schools are in a pitiable, neglected state, power companies were fleecing the consumers with inflated bills, and most streets are now pitch dark after sunset as street lights do not function, and Discom hikes power tariffs at will. "They don't own up to responsibility when innocents die due to electrocution as the power companies do not listen to the Minister, and in such a scenario, it was futile to expect anything better from her," he said.