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Sahib Singh files nominations from Outer Delhi

Former Delhi chief minister and BJP candidate from Outer Delhi parliamentary constituency, Sahib Singh Verma, today filed his nomination papers in the office of the deputy commissioner Rajneesh Yaduvanshi at Kapashera in north west Delhi.

Sahib Singh, whose name was proposed by Satya Narayan Sharma, Ramesh Bidhuri, B S Walia, Narender Kumar and Hari Krishen (all district presidents of the party units), was accompanied by party stalwart Madan Lal Khurana, Delhi BJP leaders Mange Ram Garg and O P Kohli.

The Congress has not so far fielded any candidate from Outer Delhi which was represented by BJP vice president K L Sharma in the previous Lok Sabha. Outer Delhi is the largest parliamentary constituency in the capital, having an electorate of nearly 32 lakh in 21 assembly segments.

Accompanied by hundreds of slogan-shouting supporters, it was a show of strength for Sahib Singh who declared that people would elect him hands down. He, however, said no candidate, whichever party he belonged to, should be underestimated. ''Election is a serious business and no candidate should be taken lightly. We will work very hard to make the party victorious and bring it back to power at the Centre.''

Later, Sahib Singh told reporters that there was strong resentment among the people against Congress president Sonia Gandhi being projected as the prime ministerial alternative to Atal Bihari Vajpayee. ''In fact, there is no comparison at all. How can a person who does not know anything about India's culture, ethos, language etc head the country? No self-respecting country will accept a foreigner as the leader.''

To a question on banking on the support of a particular caste, he said no caste factor should be attached to him or any other BJP leader. ''Party support is not confined to a particular caste. It is the common man who wants Vajpayee as prime minister and the BJP in power. We are banking on the support of the people.''

Criticising the Delhi government for its ''non performance'' during the past nine months, the former Delhi chief minister said he would take up local as well as national issues in the elections. The present Delhi government had not taken up a single initiative so far and whatever programmes the previous BJP government had taken up, were being pursued by the present government. Even the power and water situation had not improved and people continued to face difficulties.

''The Congress cannot boast of a single achievement.'' Among the national issues, he said Kargil and Pokhran were just two achievements of the Vajpayee government during the past 14 months which had done the country proud. On his relations with Khurana, he said he considered ''Khuranaji as my elder brother. There were never any serious differences between us. We are all party workers working to make it strong and bring it back to power.''

UNI

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