Congress affirms support to AAP; Kejriwal says party will fulfil promises

NEW DELHI: Affirming his party's support to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit on Wednesday said that there is no question of re-thinking their position. Dikshit however said that Congress is supporting only AAP's manifesto. "We aren't supporting Aam Adami Party, we are supporting the manifesto of AAP at least in the coming time or whatever we have committed to the Lieutenant Governor. The party will stand by it," he said.

"Janardan Dwivedi (Congress General Secretary) made it very clear last night that there is no rethink," he said while admitting that there was a difference of opinion within the party over supporting AAP.

"There is angst among a section of party workers over lending support to AAP. Lot of our workers and leaders have been feeling that we need not support especially after the string of abuses that AAP leaders made in public," Dikshit said.
Meanwhile, AAP's CM-designate Arvind Kejriwal said that his party will fulfil promises made in its manifesto. "The water problem in Delhi will be solved within 24 hours," Kejriwal said.

Kejriwal also played down reports of a rift in the party over the issue of cabinet berths and said party MLA Vinod Kumar Binny was not upset over his non-inclusion.

A day after Laxmi Nagar MLA Binny, a ministerial hopeful walked out of a meeting at Kejriwal's house after coming to know that he was not among the probable ministers, Kejriwal said the legislator was not interested in a ministerial berth.

"Binny came to me last evening. He told me he does not want a ministerial berth and that he was here for a mission. Binny said he has conveyed to the media that he was not upset," said Kejriwal.

Binny on his part stated that he was not angry and that there was no rift in the party.

"There is no rift between me and the party. There is nothing that I was angry about after being denied a post in the ministry," he told PTI.

Kejriwal had yesterday finalised his team of ministers that includes his trusted associate Manish Sisodia and five others.

Kejriwal, who is likely to be sworn-in as Chief Minister tomorrow, had sent to Lt Governor Najeeb Jung a list of six ministers, including the names of Sisodia, a former journalist who won from Patparganj constituency, Rakhi Birla, the giant killer who defeated PWD Minister Rajkumar Chouhan, Somnath Bharti (defeated Women and Child Development Minister Kiran Walia) Saurabh Bhardwaj, Girish Soni and Satendra Jain.