New Delhi, Dec 17: The Aam Aadmi Party refused to reveal its cards on Monday after the Congress replied to the former’s 18 issues that sought clarity before forming a government with the Congress’ “unconditional support”.
An AAP meeting is scheduled on Tuesday to take a final decision. All India Congress Committee general secretary in-charge for Delhi, Shakeel Ahmed, said 16 of the 18 points raised by the AAP were administrative tasks for “which there is no need for our support”.
“On full statehood for Delhi, we have conveyed that the Congress is for giving Delhi full statehood, as was mentioned in our manifesto, but this is an issue which is in the Centre’s domain,” he said.
On the AAP’s concern over the Lokpal Bill, the Congress said Delhi already “has a strong Lokayukta. If they want to modify the Delhi Lokayukta Act within the laid down parameters, they are free to do it and there is no need for the AAP to come to the Assembly or Parliament,” Ahmed said.
AAP legislator and spokesperson Manish Sisodia said the party “wants to form” a government but “does not want to negotiate with any party behind four walls of a room.”
“We will consider the Congress’ reply on Tuesday and take a decision,” Sisodia said. “People have been telling AAP leaders that they did good by bringing in the public domain their talks with the Congress on issue-based support.”
“If President’s Rule is imposed for a day, let it be so,” Sisodia said, pointing to the AAP’s commitment to hold public meetings across the city and seek people’s views on government formation.
AAP leader Yogendra Yadav also echoed a similar view. “The AAP’s political affairs committee will meet at 10 am on Tuesday and take the issue forward in view of the Congress’ reply,” he said.
Raj Niwas sources said if the AAP failed to take a decision on government formation in the next 48 hours, there was a strong possibility that the new 70-member Assembly may be kept under suspended animation by Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung as tenure of the present Assembly would come to an end on December 18.
On whether the AAP would be able to take a decision in the next 48 hours, Yadav said: “Constitutional procedures have their own calendar. For us, constitutional deadlines are not important. We will inform the lieutenant governor about our decision on government formation when we are ready.”
The AAP is the second-largest party in the Assembly with 28 MLAs. Jung invited Arvind Kejriwal after the BJP, which had support of 32 MLAs, expressed its inability to form a government.
After Kejriwal sought more time from Jung on Saturday, he sent a report to President Pranab Mukherjee about possible options of suspending the Assembly and imposing President’s Rule in case the AAP did not form the government.
Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, however, did not disclose contents of the report. “We are examining the report legally,” he said.
The Congress, which was drubbed in the Assembly elections after a 15-year rule, wrote to Jung on Friday, offering “unconditional support” to the AAP which, in turn, sought clarity on 18 issues including the Jan Lokpal Bill, full statehood for Delhi, audit of private power companies, among others.
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