Delhi elections 2015: BJP fires fresh salvo on AAP, calls it anti-women

NEW DELHI: Showing a map of AAP’s volunteer base, which BJP claims to have taken from the party’s website, Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman said some of its volunteers are based in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Dubai. "It is natural to ask for votes. But the way AAP is asking for votes is anti-national,” said Sitharaman.

The saffron party then hit out at AAP for not submitting its Lok Sabha polls accounts to the Election Commission till now. "They keep accusing other parties of being corrupt. Why have they (AAP) not submitted accounts to the Election Commission for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls till now?” she said. The third question was about the exodus of women members from the party . "It won't be an exaggeration to say that AAP is anti-women.Madhu Bhaduri, Shazia Ilmi and Neena Sharma left AAP .Why is there an exodus of women from the party?" Sitharaman said.

The fourth question was related to AAP’s decision to challenge the election commission’s notice in the Delhi high court. BJP members say AAP has no respect for constitutional institutions. "They use it whenever it suits them.

"The EC notice is still valid, but they are blatantly violating the rules,” she said.

The last question pertains to Lokpal. "They didn’t do any dharnas for Lokpal after quitting from government. Is Lokayukta not a valid issue now?" she asked, adding why AAP did not strengthen the Lokayukta in Delhi during its 49-day tenure.

Sitharaman also slammed AAP for failing to answer questions raised by BJP on Thursday. "Some might find the questions we asked yesterday old, but these questions haven’t been answered by AAP. They should answer these questions before asking our CM candidate for a debate.

Our members Shazia Ilmi and Ashwini Upadhyay are ready to debate," said Sitharaman.

Meanwhile, Union urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu said Delhi’s development was interlinked with the Centre. "In the past few months, we have been able to address some of the key concerns of Delhi as the LG office, DDA and other agencies worked in tandem with the central government. We can solve the problems of the city if the same party’s government is formed here as there will be better coordination," said Naidu.

In another development, Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay has appealed to party workers to unite and work hard for the upcoming elections. In a letter, he said they would have to regret for the rest of their life in case BJP lost the election.