Kejriwal must work with Centre for better Delhi: Sheila Dikshit (IANS Interview)

Terming as "unfortunate" the present situation in Delhi, where tussle between the Arvind Kejriwal government and the central agencies is causing immense trouble to citizens, former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit said the present regime has "failed to work in tandem with the central government" for betterment of the national capital.

"It's unfortunate and sad for Delhi that the chief minister is having problems with the lieutenant governor, police commissioner and others," Dikshit told IANS in an interview.

"He (Kejriwal) is blaming others for things that he promised he would do," she said, adding that the capital city is in chaos because municipal workers and officials have gone on strike.

Dikshit, who served the city for three consecutive terms from December 1998 to December 2013, said that Delhi could have done better in terms of dealing with problems like traffic jams, scarcity and contamination of water, and air pollution, had there been a cooperation among the agencies concerned.

"Cooperation is the key to get the work done," the former chief minister said, adding that Kejriwal had failed to coordinate and cooperate with the central agencies and had created a "difficult situation" in the city.

Commenting on the Aam Aadmi Party government completing one year in office on February 14, Dikshit said there was a lot to be done in terms of promises the party had made before the polls.

The fact that Delhi was not a full-fledged state and any party forming the government would have to work in tune with the Centre was known to everybody, Dikshit obvserved.

But Kejriwal still made promises which were "unreasonable and impossible to fulfill", said the 77-year-old, who is known for giving Delhi a number of flyovers and other infrastructure during her 15-year long regime.

"You could not have asked for more seats (in the assembly). People gave you a huge mandate. They thought you would deliver on your promises," she said.

Dikshit said it was impossible to provide free electricity, water and other services to the people as everything costs.

Admitting that pollution was a serious problem in Delhi, Dikshit said the Kejriwal government must come up with "good measures" to deal with it. "Odd-even did not help much," she added.

On the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) introduced in parts of Delhi by her government, Dikshit said it did not work the way it was expected to.

"But demolishing it with fan fare was not required," she said.

(Sushil Kumar could be contacted on sushil.k@ians.in)