A file photo of BJP MP Manoj Tiwari
Union minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday said the party’s chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming elections was yet to be finalised, addressing speculation over MP Manoj Tiwari's name cropping up for the top post. The BJP takes right decision at right time, Javadekar, BJP’s incharge of Delhi assembly elections said, adding nothing has been decided in this regard as yet.
He said media will be informed whenever a decision is taken about chief ministerial face of the BJP in Delhi, where polls are due before March.
Interestingly, Javadekar’s cabinet colleague Hardeep Singh Puri had in November stirred a row after he said at a public meeting that the BJP would fight the Delhi elections under Tiwari’s leadership and only rest on making him the CM of Delhi.
Puri, the co-incharge of Delhi elections, later clarified on Twitter that he was only referring to fighting the elections under Tiwari’s leadership.
Blames AAP, Congress for CAA violence
Javadekar blamed the Congress and the AAP for violence in Delhi during protests against the amended citizenship law.
The BJP will contest elections on a positive note highlighting the Modi government's works in Delhi, and register a "grand" success, he asserted at a press conference held at the Delhi BJP office here.
"The BJP takes right decision at the right time as per strategy. As soon as we take any decision about this, we will inform you," Javadekar said when asked about the BJP's chief ministerial face for Delhi polls.
The party will "soon" select candidates for the elections on 70 Assembly seats, the Union minister said.
He said Delhi polls are a contest of "nationalism versus anarchy" and "truth versus falsehood", and slammed the ruling AAP and the Congress for a host of issues including violent protests in the city against the amended citizenship law, lack of development and pollution.
"The Aam Aadmi Party and Congress are responsible for the violence during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Delhi. They have maintained silence and did not condemn violence and their people incited it," Javadekar claimed. The AAP and Congress rubbished Javadekar's charges and hit back at the BJP.
"The AAP is absolutely against riots (violence) and we all know which party indulges in it. The masters of riots are accusing others (of violence) and are trying to distract attention of people from real issues," said senior party leader and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
Delhi Congress chief spokesperson Mukesh Sharma termed Javadekar's charges "baseless" and said it was a BJP "drama" in the wake of elections.
Javadekar also claimed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal practises a politics of "misleading" people and tries to take credit for the Centre's work in reducing pollution and municipal corporations' efforts in containing dengue.
Javadekar said the BJP's agenda in the upcoming poll will be achieving "complete development" of Delhi, which he claimed was "denied" by the AAP.
He said that the BJP government at the Centre has provided property ownership right to 40 lakh residents in unauthorised colonies, free hold rights to 10 lakh shopkeepers, relaxed household industry norms, and providing houses in slums.
(with IANS inputs)
