New Delhi:
The Congress, which governs Delhi, has slammed Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party for putting up posters in the city that say rapes will continue in the capital if the Congress is voted to power in the assembly elections due at the end of the year.
The posters have been put up in east Delhi and accuse Mrs Dikshit of corruption while they praise Mr Kejriwal. Some read,
'Is baar bhi diya beimaano ko vote toh mahilao ka hota rahega balatkaar (if you vote for the corrupt this time, rapes will continue to occur)'
The Congress has called it an attempt by Mr Kejriwal to get attention. "If you want to politicize the rape issue then do it but do not trivialize it. No one has done politics on such a low level," said Pawan Khera, political secretary to Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.
Mr Kejriwal's party is expected to make its electoral debut in this year's elections and the activist-turned-politician has been focused on targeting Mrs Dikshit. He has announced that he will contest against the CM in her New Delhi constituency.
In a strongly worded letter to Mr Kejriwal last week, Mr Khera had asked him not to use language "unbecoming of an educated man" and to refrain from making personal attacks, which, he said, reduced politics to a "cheap gimmick."
Mr Kejriwal seemed unperturbed as he justified the posters that his party has put up, saying there is a "fear psychosis" among the people, especially women, in Delhi. He has slammed the Dikshit government and the city's police for having done nothing to allay those fears. Mrs Diskhit's government has been on the backfoot for some months now over Delhi living up to the shameful tag of "rape capital" because of the rising incidents of sexual assault on women.
On Tuesday, Mr Kejriwal had challenged Ms Dikshit to a public debate with him. "I invite you for a public debate. This debate may happen at Ramlila Maidan. Date and time will be of your convenience. But I know you will not accept this challenge," Mr Kejriwal said in a letter to the Chief Minister.
Among the issues that Mr Kejriwal wants to debate is women's safety. He alleged that there are Congress legislators with criminal records, saying, "In the Delhi Assembly, there are 16 Congress MLAs who are charged with serious criminal offences. How can these people make laws against rape, corruption and murder? The Legislative Assembly is like a temple. And presence of such people will spoil the sanctity of the temple," Mr Kejriwal said.