Former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit Friday said CM Arvind Kejriwal should first read the Constitution and then approach the Prime Minister and the Parliament on full statehood for Delhi.Stating that she too had demanded statehood during her three-term tenure, Dikshit said, “. we didn’t politicise or make it an excuse for not carrying out developmental work. We had understood that it is not possible because it is the country’s capital, so the Centre will not give land and police to us. But for the AAP, it is an excuse because they have failed to carry out any work.” Comparing her governance with that of the AAP, Dikshit said the BJP was in power at the Centre when she became CM in 1998, and there was no conflict between them. She said she “successfully brought CNG to Delhi and privatised power industry”. She added that Kejriwal must understand that Delhi is a Union Territory, and that he is wrong if he thinks he can have a governance model like Haryana and UP. Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee chief Ajay Maken said the AAP and the BJP are doing “dharna politics” and are “not serious” about public issues such as water shortage.
