The Hindu : New Delhi News : BJP to pick holes in govt. works

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Thursday, Apr 26, 2007
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New Delhi

BJP to pick holes in govt. works

Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

Party to raise the tempo of campaign against Sheila Government

NEW DELHI: After winning the Municipal Corporation of Delhi elections, the Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party is now working on a strategy to portray the Government in "real light'' by focusing on the work done by each of the departments during the two terms of Sheila Dikshit. And all through the final year before the next Assembly elections, the party would campaign against the Congress regime on an issue-by-issue basis.

According to Delhi BJP president Harsh Vardhan, the party would exposecorruption within the various departments of the Government. "With a year to go for the Assembly elections, we will raise the tempo of the systematic campaign to ensure ouster of the present regime,'' he said.

While a demand has been made by several BJP MLAs and leaders over the years that "shadow ministers'' be appointed for each of the seven Ministers so that they can concentrate on the work under a particularly Minister and then point out the discrepancies, such a move could not take off as it was not approved by the party's Central leadership.

But since a large section of the party MLAs feel the need to decentralise party work and make various MLAs feel responsible by asking them to look into the functioning of various Government departments, Dr. Vardhan said what had been decided was that the party would identify areas where the Government has not functioned properly so that it could expose the inadequacies and corruption before the public.

"We realise that the people have been suffering on various counts under the present Government. So along with raising these issues, we would be compiling details so that we are able to target the Government systematically ahead of the Assembly elections in 2008,'' said Dr. Vardhan.

Within the BJP, there is a general feeling that the party should work in unison while targeting the Government. "This is something that had been lacking. When the party president raises one issue, the Leader of the Opposition does not support it, and vice-versa. Also, most of the times when the MLAs raise issues pertaining to problems in their constituencies or issues affecting the whole of Delhi, they find support from the senior leaders missing.''

Stating that there is also a need for the BJP to set its own house in order, an MLA said: "For the party to do well in the Assembly elections, it is essential that it takes everyone along for the undercurrent that swept away the Congress in the MCD polls may not be there by the time the Assembly elections take place.''

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