New Delhi: Former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit today tore into her Congress colleague Ajay Maken for what she called "unbecoming comments" against her and squarely blamed him for the party's decimation in polls in the capital.
"I pity him. Whatever he did just didn't yield us any kind of fruit - it came to zero," Ms Dikshit said bluntly in an interview to NDTV. "He got an opportunity and wasn't able to avail of it."
Her sharp attack exposed the virtual meltdown within the party after its Delhi poll debacle. The Congress did not win a single seat, hitting a record low after a series of defeats since it lost power at the Centre in May.
Mr Maken, the Congress' face in these polls, had been openly critical of Sheila Dikshit, who headed the party's government in Delhi for 15 years. In January, Mr Maken had taken an unsubtle dig at his former mentor when he said, "Every person has an era of glory which comes to an end."
Hitting back today, Ms Dikshit said, "If he thinks we lost because of what I didn't do in 15 years, we also won for 15 years for what I did."
The Congress, attempting to tackle anti-incumbency, had made a conscious decision not highlight Ms Dikshit in its campaign. "I knew I would be sidelined," said the three-time Chief Minister.
She sought to temper her scathing critique with the comment that "to blame him alone would not be fair. Defeat is collective responsibility."
Ms Dikshit also felt the decision to make Mr Maken chairman of the party's campaign committee was belated. "He was also contesting his own election, so he had to look after his own constituency as well," she conceded.
Asked whether collective responsibility should also include Rahul Gandhi, who has been accused of showing disinterest in the Delhi polls, the 76-year-old Congress veteran said, "I am not saying the Gandhis are not responsible, but you can't hold them alone responsible for everything. State polls are lost or won by the local leadership."