Her remarks disowned by Cong; Sheila Dikshit says, I meant a BJP govt will face floor test

Speaking to The Indian Express, Dikshit said “if a party were to form a government, it will have to prove its majority on the floor of the House”. She said an elected government is always good in a democracy.

Later in the day, the party high command gave her the benefit of the doubt but the Delhi unit didn’t seem satisfied. Delhi Congress chief spokesperson Mukesh Sharma said, “We are shocked by Sheila Dikshit’s statement on government formation. It is her personal views and Congress has nothing to do with it. Our stand is very clear from day one that Congress will not let the BJP form government in the national capital.” CLP leader Haroon Yusuf said, “Her earlier statement is very clear but that remains her personal view and not that of the party.”

In remarks earlier, which were interpreted as support for BJP manoeuvres to form a government, Dikshit said “in a democracy, elected governments are always good as they represent the people” and “if the BJP has reached such a situation that it can form government, it is good for Delhi.” She also said “it is yet to be seen how a government is formed and what challenges will be there for a minority government”.

With 28 MLAs, the BJP is eight short of a simple majority in the 70-member House.

The BJP praised Dikshit for her “straightforward” statement while the Aam Aadmi Party said that it was not surprised as “there is hardly any difference between BJP and Congress”.

“She is a seasoned politician, a three-time chief minister and knows the ups and downs of politics. I appreciate her for raising the level of debate in the state as opposed to other who are only pulling it down,” Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay said. He said if the state is forced into fresh elections, it is the citizens who will have to bear the cost as “across party lines, no one wants fresh election”.

AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal took to Twitter to react to the statement and said, “Sheilaji today confessed what we have been saying all along. That there is an underhand deal betn cong and BJP….Cong leaders say they want elections. Really? Then why don’t all cong MLAs write to LG and Supreme Court that they want elections?”