New Delhi, Dec 21: Strongly indicating that Delhi's wait for a government could be over soon, Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal said auditing of power companies and legislating the Jan Lokpal bill would be top priorities for the new city government.
Though he added the proviso that a formal announcement on government formation will await till a referendum AAP is conducting is over, Kejriwal asserted AAP would do a much better job than traditional parties like BJP and Congress if it assumed office.
AAP has to take a formal decision on whether it is accepting the outside support of eight Congress MLAs that will take its numbers in the 70-member Delhi assembly to the halfway mark of 36.
Dismissing the view aired in Congress and BJP circles that AAP will find running a government a challenging task, Kejriwal said, "Sarkar chala ke dikhayenge, inse achchi chala ke dikhayenge aur thok baja kar chala kar dikhayenge (We will run a government, we will do a better job and do so with elan)."
The confident AAP leader looked set to become Delhi's next chief minister, saying the apprehension that the party will stumble once in office is not a valid assessment. "I just want to say that political parties should stop challenging us. First they said they (AAP) won't get candidates, then they said we can't get elected. Now we have won 28 seats."
Kejriwal said mainstream parties continue to underestimate AAP. "I want to tell them: stop challenging the power of the aam aadmi. They have no idea how powerful the aam aadmi is. They have made it appear we will not be able to run the government. Governance is not like going to the moon. We will run the government better than them."
On the ongoing referendum, Kejriwal was non-committal. "We have received both points of view, some who feel we should stay away from politics and have nothing to do with it and there are others who feel that we should form government. There is nothing unethical in either. It is a political decision. We will completely go by public opinion," he said.
But senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia indicated where the ongoing referendum is headed, saying, "We are receiving overwhelming support for our decision to form the government. There is no reason not to form government." The party is expected to make an announcement by Monday.
Kejriwal, who is gearing up for two days of jan sabhas across the city, also dismissed sceptics who criticized the party's manifesto as a pie in the sky.
Asked how promises like auditing of power companies or provision of 700 litres of water for every household will be fulfilled, he said, "Our manifesto has been carefully thought out after public consultation. It is practical and implementable. Congress has not been able to fulfill its 1998 manifesto so why are they are challenging us? It is our priority and we will achieve it."
He asserted that if Congress or BJP withdrew support on a bill, the parties will risk being exposed. "The public does not expect the moon. They will understand that if we bring a bill and Congress and BJP do not support us, it is these parties who will be exposed. The government is being made on issue-based support," he said.
Having decided to step up to the table, AAP's pitch for the 2014 polls seems underway. The referendum, Kejriwal said had made their party a talking point even among those who had not supported them earlier.
He added, "It is important to realize that we are redefining democracy. People are already talking about our party and feeling empowered. The process is important for us."
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