Congress attack Vijay Goel, calls him 'frustrated'

The Congress Tuesday lambasted BJP's state unit chief Vijay Goel, saying he is "frustrated" over not being declared the party's chief ministerial candidate of Delhi which has led him to level "baseless" allegations against the ruling party.

"First, Vijay Goel is not getting support from the party leaders, then his party is not declaring him the chief ministerial candidate because of which he has become frustrated," said Arvinder Singh Lovely, a minister in Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's cabinet.

BJP has witnessed a fight with the party remaining non-committal on announcing its chief ministerial candidate for the Dec 4 Delhi Assembly polls.

The minister took a dig at Goel for not doing his "homework" before trading baseless charges at the ruling Congress.

Lovely was accompanied by two of his colleagues, Haroon Yusuf and Rajkumar Chauhan who countered Goel's charges one by one.

"He (Goel) said what is the need for giving food security to 72 percent population of Delhi if it has the highest per capita income. Per capita does not mean high income for everyone but it is the average income. His lack of programme knowledge is appalling," Lovely told a press conference.

On the issue of unemployment which Goel said has reached four percent, Lovely said that during BJP tenure, 12.6 percent people in Delhi were unemployed. In fact we have reduced unemployment, he added, citing the National Sample Survey data.

Public Works Department Minister Chauhan brushed aside BJP's criticism holding Delhi government responsible for traffic mess in the capital. "We have built 74 flyovers and BJP-ruled MCD has not completed even one," Chauhan said.

Lovely said Goel has no idea about Delhi and the problems of its people.

When asked about the BJP's door-to-door campaign which the party is launching Oct 17, Lovely said: "They (BJP) wake up during election time. We don't have to worry about it, as our party workers are always in touch with people at the grassroots level."