Last Updated: February 27, 2023, 14:18 IST
The anger goes back to 2011 when the Anna Hazare movement was supported by Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia. (Twitter)
The Congress has now emerged as a lone voice in the opposition space which is not supporting the AAP in condemning the arrest of the deputy CM of Delhi
“Satyameva Jayate. It’s a welcome step that Manish Sisodia has been arrested as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has made a lot of wealth through corruption. Even Arvind Kejriwal must be arrested as he is the mastermind of this scam.”
No, this is not the reaction of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to Sisodia’s arrest. This is the Congress and the statement is by Delhi Congress chief Anil Chaudhary.
Three questions of the Congress related to the liquor scam: 1. Why is the BJP protecting Kejriwal, the real master mind of the scam, when will the CBI interrogate him?
2. When will action be taken against the big leaders of BJP who flouted the master plan and got license from MCD?
3. When will action be taken against those who donate to BJP?
— Anil Chaudhary (@Ch_AnilKumarINC) February 27, 2023
In fact, the Congress has now emerged as a lone voice in the opposition space which is not supporting the AAP in condemning the arrest of the deputy CM of Delhi.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) was the first to attack the BJP when Derek O’Brien tweeted to say: “If Manish Sisodia had got himself a BJP brand of washing machine, he would never been arrested. Bravo Manish.”
If @msisodia had got himself a #BJP brand of washing machine, he would never been arrested. Bravo, Manish Allies ShivSena, SADal, JD(U) TDP & others have all abandoned BJP. Only CBI, ED, IT remain true allies.
Targeting Opposition leaders is the DESPERATE DUO’S favorite job
— Derek O’Brien | Derek O’Brien (@derekobrienmp) February 26, 2023
Other parties like the Shiv Sena, Janata Dal (U) too have condemned the arrest and interestingly they are the allies of the Congress. So what is stopping the Congress from supporting the AAP, in the name of opposition unity?
THE REASONS
There are two reasons.
One, the Congress complains that when the Gandhis were being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the National Herald case, the AAP did not even murmur a defence.
Not just that, during the Parliament session then, while most opposition parties supported and marched with the Congress in protest to the Rashtrapati Bhawan, the AAP stayed away.
So, for the Congress, it’s revenge time.
Two and most important, for the Congress, the biggest hit has come from the AAP.
Wherever the AAP has grown, it has at the cost of the Congress. Delhi, Punjab and now in state polls such as Goa, Gujarat and the upcoming Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan. The AAP only ends up cutting into the Congress votes.
The Congress says: “The AAP is the B team of the BJP. We cannot ever support them. They want to eat us up and we will be happy if they are crushed.”
ANGER GOES BACK TO 2011
But the anger goes back to 2011 when the Lokpal Bill or the Anna Hazare movement was supported by Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia.
According to the Congress, this movement, supported by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and BJP, had led to the unravelling of the Congress and its defeat in 2019.
ALSO READ | ‘South Lobby’, Bribes & Profits: Amid Manish Sisodia’s Arrest, Delhi Liquor Scam in 5 Points
So, on corruption, if the AAP goes down in public perception, it’s a time to stand vindicated.
In politics, revenge is a sweet pill and that’s why the Congress is all smiles and hopes this smile spreads broader with state poll results.
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