AAP Warns Congress: Action Against Ajay Maken For Calling Kejriwal “Anti-National” or Face Expulsion from INDIA Bloc

In a dramatic shift in Delhi's political dynamics, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has threatened to cut ties with Congress in the united opposition alliance, the INDIA bloc, following a series of escalating accusations. Allies in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the two parties are now locked in a bitter afce-off ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections. During a press conference on Thursday, AAP leaders, including Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, launched a blistering attack on Congress. They accused the party of undermining AAP and helping the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of crucial elections in Delhi. Singh specifically targeted Congress leader Ajay Maken, accusing him of calling AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal “anti-national,” which he claimed had deeply upset Kejriwal.

“We are giving 24 hours to the Congress to take action against Ajay Maken for calling our leader anti-national. If no action is taken, we will urge the INDIA bloc to expel Congress from the alliance,” Singh said, flanked by Chief Minister Atishi. He further accused Congress of "reading from the BJP’s script" in its attacks on AAP, asserting that the Congress was working to help the BJP win in Delhi.

AAP and Congress during the 2024 general elections, just 10 months back had stitched seat sharing arrangements in Delhi and other states like Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, and Chandigarh to counter the BJP's dominance. However, despite their efforts, the BJP won all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, and their alliance has now fallen apart ahead of the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections. But like in 2020, this time the parties won’t fight elections in an alliance in Delhi.

“Arvind Kejriwal had campaigned for Congress candidates in Delhi. He campaigned for Congress in Chandigarh too. AAP repeatedly stands with the Congress on issues in Parliament. And you are calling our leader anti-national, Youth Congress is registering FIR against him?. They have crossed all limits” Singh added. AAP has also accused the Congress of getting funds from the BJP in the run upto the Delhi polls. Chief Minister Atishi named Sandeep Dikshit of receiving funds from the saffron party. "Congress's action makes it clear that the party has made some arrangements with the BJP for the Delhi elections. The BJP is funding Congress candidates. We have heard that Sandeep Dikshit is getting funded by the BJP," she said.


Tensions between the two parties reached a new peak after the Delhi government's Women and Child Development (WCD) department issued a clarification on AAP’s ‘Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana.’ While AAP had announced the scheme, claiming it would provide Rs 2,100 to women in Delhi, the WCD department issued a notification contradicting the claim. It stated that no such scheme had been officially notified and warned that any individual or party collecting personal details in the name of the scheme was committing fraud. This led to Congress accusing AAP of illegally collecting data for electoral gain. In response, Youth Congress filed a formal complaint against Kejriwal, and Ajay Maken demanded that AAP provide a “white paper” on the scheme. He also called Kejriwal a “fraud”.

“AAP came to power riding on their anti corruption crusade but in these many years they have not been able to set up Janlokpal in Delhi. If there is one word to describe former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal here then it would be ‘Farziwal’ (meaning fraud). If anyone is the king of fraud in the entire country then it is Kejriwal and that is why we have come here with a white paper on the Kejriwal government and also on the BJP government at the Centre," Mr Maken said on Wednesday.​