Q: You always talk about secularism. Don't you think you should join hands with AAP for the sake of secularism?
Lovely: When were they secular? While Congress is busy staging protest, they have never staged any protest against the Modi government. They are the B-team of BJP. They fielded their candidates in Lok Sabha so that the votes of secular and forward-looking people get divided and the BJP gets the benefit. It harmed our chances in Lok Sabha polls.
Q: Are you saying that there is a hidden understanding between BJP and AAP?
Lovely: I have nothing to say. You tell me, have they staged any protest against Modi government? A person who did not care for CM post, a person who staged a sit-in outside Rail Bhavan demanding transfer of a couple of policemen, did not get a day for staging protest against the Modi govt? They will stage protest once again when elections will be announced for Delhi assembly. They stage protest only for grabbing power. Why is it that all their members are crossing over to BJP? What they are actually doing is ‘scripted politics'.
Q: BJP still believes that Narendra Modi will be a factor in Delhi assembly elections. Do you believe that ‘Modi factor' will work in Delhi?
Lovely: Will Modi become the Chief Minister of Delhi? They should not be mistaken. Narendra Modi had promised to control price-rise within days of coming into power but just see what has happened. Price-rise has crossed all limits. As a Chief Minister, he used to write to the PM that railway fares should not be hiked as it's a mode of transportation for the common man. The first decision he took after becoming Prime Minister was to raise railway fares and the quantum of hike was unprecedented. It was the highest since independence. He used to accuse Congress govt of offering biryani to Pakistan leaders when our soldiers were being beheaded by the Pakistani army. I want to ask him whether he invited Nawaz Sharif to eat ‘Khichadi'? Firing is taking place non-stop on borders but nothing is being done. So people have now realized that there is a big difference between what Modi said and what he is actually doing. The Uttarakhand results have proved it. In the Lok Sabha elections, we had lost all the seats but within one month, we have staged a comeback and emerged victorious in by-polls for all three assembly seats. It means that people are not happy with Modi government's functioning.
Q: Coming to the Congress party, people say that there is too much of factionalism in the party. You have a group which is loyal to former CM Sheila Dikshit, another group is loyal to you and Haroon Yousuf. What would you say on that?
Lovely: See, there is only one leader in Congress and her name is Sonia Gandhi. And our vice president is Rahul Gandhi. We all have full confidence in their leadership and we will contest the elections unitedly under their leadership.
