AAP skips Jan Lokpal, BJP slams shift in focus

NEW DELHI: Jan Lokpal had been the central issue for AAP in the 2013 assembly elections. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had in fact resigned within 49 days of coming to power after his government failed to table the Jan Lokpal Bill in the Delhi assembly this February. But, a few months down the line, the issue seems to have lost its prominence on the AAP agenda. Even its first two Delhi Dialogues have focused on youths and women's safety.
BJP, riding the Modi wave, has now attacked AAP for leaving out its core issue ahead of the assembly elections. "They have realized that the issue of Jan Lokpal can't help them mobilize people. It was a political agenda for them. They feel that they can't get anything by talking about Jan Lokpal, this is why they have shifted their focus," said Ashwini Upadhyay, a former AAP member who recently joined BJP and has become its spokesperson in the city.
Upadhyay alleged that AAP didn't even care about swaraj. "Swaraj is limited to the cap which most AAP leaders wear. The party couldn't implement swaraj within its own organization, how will it implement it in the state?
Most of the AAP members who had quit the party have raised the issue of lack of internal democracy."
BJP leaders also slammed AAP for indulging in vote-bank politics. "They are trying to woo people with sops. If they are so serious about local issues, they should talk about internal security. But they will not do so as they will have to answer a few tough questions regarding the party's decision to field people like Soni Sori in the Lok Sabha elections," said Upadhyay.
Ever since his resignation, Kejriwal had fallen silent on Jan Lokpal and swaraj, said BJP leaders. "Now they stand exposed before the people," said a senior leader.
However, senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia said nobody has the right to dictate terms to AAP. "Who is BJP to tell AAP what it should do. It is the party's prerogative to decide its campaign strategy."
Denying that the party has dumped Jan Lokpal and swaraj, he said, "Our programme to empower resident welfare associations is a form of swaraj. The party is also talking about the needs of people. That the Jan Lokpal has to be brought about is a given, so why should we have more discussions on it?"