Amid confrontation between the Centre and the Delhi government, the Aam Aadmi Party on Monday fired a fresh salvo at Centre over the statehood issue and said since 1992 the saffron party have been vociferous on its demand for complete statehood for the national capital, but has now taken a U-turn.
The party said the Bharatiya Janata Party had promised both in the 2013 Delhi assembly manifesto and 2014 general election to grant full statehood to Delhi, but yet not decision has been taken by the current dispensation.
It added that while it was in power at the Centre, its veterans former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani had taken keen interest in drafting the bill for granting full statehood to Delhi.
"Ever since its formation in 1992, the BJP in the national capital has been vociferous on its demand for complete statehood of Delhi and has led several agitations and protests for the same," the party said in a statement.
"The BJP's eagerness to accord full statehood to Delhi is established further from the fact that with the BJP led coalition in power, it drafted the legislative bill under the guidance of its stalwarts like Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani and presented it to the parliament," the party said in a statement.
It added that more than one standing committee report have been presented, one of it even suggesting particularly that the Traffic Police in Delhi should be in direct control of the state government.
On Sunday, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia hit out at the Centre amid the confrontation between Arvind Kejriwal and Lt Governor Najeeb Jung, slamming it for its "biggest u-turn" on the issue of full statehood to Delhi.
He also wondered as to why the BJP was "scared" of a "contest" between Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
