Accusing the Congress of discourtesy and arrogance, Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh said, "If Rahul Gandhi can hug Narendra Modi, why cannot he ask Arvind Kejriwal for support to his party's candidate."
Fissures in the Opposition block came to the fore almost immediately once the Rajya Sabha convened on Thursday morning to elect the deputy chairman.
The seats allotted to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were vacant amplifying that Congress president Rahul Gandhi has chosen not to heed to Arvind Kejriwal's warning that unless he calls, AAP members will not vote for the Congress candidate.
While Rahul chose to be silent allowing the senior leaders of his party – Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and Ahmed Patel – to do the talking, AAP's abstention in voting soon led to a fresh war of words between the two parties as Sharmistha Mukherjee harped on AAP betrayal and said it only helped the BJP.
"AAP says 'politics does not run on ego'. Indeed! That's why @ArvindKejriwal is sulking & decided to abstain from voting in RS, helping BJP," tweeted Mukherjee, daughter of former president Pranab Mukherjee.
AAP had ratcheted up the tempo on Wednesday by stating that Congress was full of arrogance as it did not have the decency to acknowledge its contribution of 55 votes to its candidate Meira Kumar during Presidential elections.
Accusing the Congress of discourtesy and arrogance, Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh said, "If Rahul Gandhi can hug Narendra Modi, why cannot he ask Arvind Kejriwal for support to his party's candidate."
In reply, Mukherjee said, "Why should Rahul Gandhi seek support from a person who openly pledged to support & campaign for Modi in 2019 provided a demand of his is met. Politics is a battle of ideologies, not a playground for opportunists indulging in quid pro quo."
Apparently, it was in reference to Kejriwal's declaration in Delhi assembly in June that he was ready to campaign for the BJP in 2019 if Delhi was given full statehood.
AAP vs Congress
- Opposition unity was exposed after AAP and Congress indulged in a war of words on Thursday.
- Kejriwal had earlier warned Congress that its support wouldn’t come unless Rahul calls and requests vote.
- Congress refused to heed to AAP demand.
- While Cong blames it on AAP ego, the latter says it’s Cong arrogance.
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