New Delhi, Oct 12 (IANS) Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva on Sunday hit out at former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for complaining about the miseries of auto-rickshaw drivers, questioning him on his failure to address the issue while he was in power.

Sachdeva described the National Convenor of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of indulging in gimmickry over an issue which he himself failed to resolve.

“Kejriwal is a political Natwarlal (a notorious con artist) who is an expert at changing colours according to the situation and playing word games,” said Sachdeva.

He said that during his 10 years in power, Kejriwal did nothing to improve the lives of auto-rickshaw drivers or other daily wage earners, and now that he is out of power, he is shedding crocodile tears before them.

The Delhi BJP President said that BJP government led by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta is committed to improving not only the living standards of auto-rickshaw drivers and other daily wage workers but also their working conditions.

CM Gupta’s government is preparing plans not only for auto drivers but also for fulfilling all election promises made to every section of society.

“We will ensure better housing, better education, and better healthcare for auto drivers and all workers within the next one year,” he said.

Sachdeva earlier targeted the AAP government for vilifying fire-crackers and misleading public against their use to celebrate Diwali.

He stated that the AAP, for the past 7–8 years, filed such environment reports in courts to appease a minority community, which resulted in the Supreme Court banning firecrackers in Delhi during festivals like Dussehra, Durga Puja, and Diwali.

The BJP has consistently maintained that firecrackers lit for half an hour on Dussehra evening and for one night on Diwali are not the primary cause of winter pollution in Delhi and, hence, they should be permitted, he said.

However, former Chief Minister Kejriwal and former Environment Minister Gopal Rai deliberately created an environment leading to a ban on firecrackers to please a specific minority group.

The Kejriwal government itself introduced “green crackers” but later created an atmosphere to have those banned as well.

Sachdeva said that the AAP still does not want the Supreme Court to allow the use of firecrackers, especially green ones.

He pointed to Delhi AAP chief Saurabh Bharadwaj’s statements clearly show that Saurabh Bhardwaj and other AAP leaders still believe that pollution is too high and green crackers should not be permitted.

–IANS

rch/pgh