Certain Congressmen against extending support to AAP: Janardhan Dwivedi

Congress leader Janardhan Dwivedi on Tuesday said the party will keep its word on giving outside support to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for the formation of the government in Delhi despite some voices in the party opposing it.

"It is true that there are certain opinions in the party that we should not have extended support to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi. The reason behind this is that the voters of Delhi did not support Congress to such an extent that we did not even come up as the main opposition," said Dwivedi.

Reasoning out the need for extending support to the AAP, Dwivedi said: "If we had come up as the main opposition, then, we would have played the role of opposition, and would have worked for the development and justice of the public. After all, the Congress has run its government for 15 years, and has changed the image of Delhi. If we still were not accepted by the people, it is time for introspection. And, we will try to regain the faith of the public."

"Now, we have extended support. So we will keep our promise. In a way, we have tread the middle path," Dwivedi added.

Earlier today, several Congress workers had protested in front of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) headquarters against the decision of the party to support the AAP. The workers also burnt effigies of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, protesting against the abusive language used by several AAP leaders.

In a letter written to the Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung, the Congress, which have 8 MLAs, decided to extend unconditional support to the AAP, which have 28 MLAs, to form the next government in Delhi.

On Monday, Kejriwal met Lt. Governor Jung and staked a claim to form the next government in Delhi with Congress support.

"I have handed over the letter to the Lt. Governor stating that we are ready to form a government in Delhi," Kejriwal told media here.

"As soon as the President orders it, the date for the oath ceremony will be fixed. The oath will be taken at Ram Lila Maidan," he said.

Kejriwal had earlier said that the party has decided to form the government in Delhi with Congress' support.

"We have got overwhelming participation of people during the public meetings. About 80 percent of them have favoured that party should form the government," Kejriwal told media here.

In a public meeting on Sunday, Kejriwal, whose one-year-old party had its roots in the anti-corruption movement, rebuffed allegations that his party was hesitant to form government.

"We will deliver whatever we assured in our manifesto. It (the manifesto) was prepared after wide consultations and a lot of thought went into it," he said.

The AAP had bagged 28 seats in the 70-member Delhi assembly. The BJP had emerged as the single largest party by winning 31 seats while the Congress had stood a poor third with eight seats.

The BJP decided not to form the government, following which AAP leaders met Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung and sought 10 days time. The AAP then held a referendum to know from the people whether or not they should form a minority government.