The no-holds-barred attack by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accusing AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal for building a “Sheesh mahal” and referring to former deputy CM Manish Sisodia as the “architect of the liquor scam”, may not have been just a wild lunge at a rival whose success marked Congress’s decline in 2014.
According to insiders, while it was targeted at Kejriwal and his lieutenants, the strident tone was a message to all parties, which, though supposedly allies, have consistently tried to pull Congress down and have revelled in its setbacks.
The attack took many by surprise because of a host of reasons — the endorsement of ED’s probe against a non-BJP player, the fact that Rahul and Kejriwal were moving as allies not long ago as well as the estimate that Congress is not expected to reverse its diminution in the city.
But Congress insiders said Rahul’s remarks were well considered and reflected the dominant assessment in the party that while opposing BJP may suit the political needs of Kejriwal and a few other INDIA bloc players, they are more focused on hurting Congress and not letting it remain as the dominant player in the “non-BJP” sphere.
That, perhaps, explains why Rahul doubled down on his attack on Kejriwal on Wednesday in a Delhi assembly poll rally at Bawana, where he challenged the AAP chief to take a dip in the Yamuna, while reiterating allegations of corruption. Simultaneously, on a day when PM Narendra Modi focused on the Delhi govt’s refusal to table CAG reports in the assembly, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera further twisted the knife, saying, “He (Kejriwal) used to roam the whole country with fake draft CAG reports against us (Congress). Now, when so many CAG reportshave come against him, why is his mouth shut?… I am challenging him that if he has the guts, then have a debate on your CAG reports with us.” The party also released a video on ‘Sheesh mahal’, urging people to vote for Congress and not fall prey to AAP’s promises.
The attack is being seen as necessary to protect the party’s turf and not cede ground to other “secular ” parties, which, while claiming to be ideological partners, remain convinced that they can progress only at Congress’s cost.
Congress sources said allying with AAP has not helped Congress anywhere. “In Punjab we fought the Lok Sabha polls separately and it worked better for us,” a leader said.
The senior leadership feels that the never comfortable equation between AAP and Congress has only worsened since the fallout over forming an alliance in Haryana polls. Congress leaders, who are at the helm of affairs, however, claim that the bitterness has been brewing for long and point out how Kejriwal has been unsparing in his attack on the party. They were referring to Kejriwal’s post on X in which he had said, “His (Rahul) fight is to save Congress, my fight is to save the country.” This was in response to Rahul on Jan 13 at his rally in Seelampur saying that Kejriwal was following “Modi’s strategy of propaganda and false promises” despite rising pollution, corruption and inflation in Delhi.