AAP manifesto for Delhi polls repackaged promises of 2015 to lure votes: Opposition

The BJP and the Congress slammed the ruling Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) manifesto for the Delhi Assembly election that was released on Tuesday, describing it as "hollow" and repackaged poll promises from the past. At a press conference, Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari said the AAP manifesto was a "bundle of lies".

"This manifesto does not deserve any discussion because it contains the same old promises that were in the AAP manifesto for the 2015 Assembly polls, while some points are copied from the BJP's Sankalp Patra," he said.

The AAP released its manifesto for the February 8 polls on Tuesday, focussing on quality education, health, clean water, 24-hour electricity and a "deskbhakti curriculum" in the government schools of Delhi. Released in the presence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia and Labour Minister Gopal Rai as a "28-point guarantee card", the manifesto promised doorstep delivery of ration, free pilgrimage to 10 lakh senior citizens and a Rs 1-crore compensation to the kin of a safai karamchari if he died on duty. Union minister Harsh Vardhan alleged that the Kejriwal-led party had removed the manifesto from its website thinking they could "cheat" the people of Delhi.

"Not a single one of the 70 promises made by them was fulfilled, so some of those promises have been written in the 2020 manifesto as well," he said.

Delhi Congress president Subhash Chopra dubbed the AAP manifesto as a "basket of hollow promises" aimed at "luring" voters. Taking a dig at the ruling party in the national capital, he said circumstances prevented the AAP from fulfilling its earlier promises, despite its absolute majority in the Assembly.

"What are the new circumstances now that made the AAP to repeat those same promises and assert that it will fulfil them in the next five years?" he asked.

Chopra said the same circumstances and set-up that existed six years ago prevailed even now since the BJP was in power at the Centre again.

"The AAP came to power promising Jan Lokpal but did nothing in the last five years to work on it. Similarly, the Delhi Swaraj Bill was yet another fake promise in the AAP's 70-point manifesto, but it took no initiative to redeem it," he said.

The Congress leader said the AAP was again up to the "old trick", claiming that it would pursue with the Centre to bring a strong Delhi Swaraj Bill. Chopra also questioned the AAP's promises of appointing sanitation workers, regularising contract workers, statehood for Delhi and expansion of the Delhi Metro network.