None from Congress going to jail, other Opposition parties need to think of a Third Front: Atishi

At a time when the Opposition INDIA bloc seems to be struggling to take on the ruling BJP-led NDA, senior AAP leader and Delhi’s former Chief Minister Atishi has said that non-Congress, non-BJP parties “definitely need” to think about a Third Front.
Expressing disappointment with the role of the Congress in the INDIA bloc, Atishi accused the party of being in an “unstated alliance” with the BJP.
While leaders of non-Congress Opposition parties, she said, were facing “persecution” of one kind or another, that was not the case with the Congress. She pointed to what she called “a pattern” and asked, “Why do their (Congress) leaders not go to jail?”.
Atishi made these remarks in an interview with The Indian Express Wednesday, a day after the AAP skipped a meeting of several INDIA constituents which met in Delhi to discuss a joint letter to the Prime Minister to seek a special session of Parliament to “discuss the developments following the terror attack in Pahalgam”.
Leaders of 16 INDIA parties, including the Congress, TMC, SP, RJD, DMK, JMM, National Conference, Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Left, signed the letter. The AAP, however, chose to send a separate letter to the Prime Minister, demanding a special session.
Atishi is currently Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Delhi Assembly.
“I would say I am disappointed with the Congress (role in the INDIA bloc). It was their responsibility to assume a leadership position. For example, if I am a Chief Minister… it is my role to take everyone along… I feel that in the INDIA alliance, Congress is the most senior party. It is the biggest party. It has a footprint in all states. In that context, it was their responsibility to take everyone along,” she said.
On the issue of forming a Third Front, Atishi said, “I think there is definitely a need for non-Congress, non-BJP parties to think about what is happening in the country and the rights of states, the way the persecution of their leaders, etc, is happening – it (Third Front) is definitely something to think about.”

‘Congress speaking BJP language’

Citing an example, she said Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, during a recent trip to Kerala, “trashed” Chief Minister and CPM leader Pinarayi Vijayan, a key INDIA ally. She accused Gandhi of “speaking the language of the BJP” and alleged an “unstated alliance between the Congress and the BJP”.
“There seems to be an unstated alliance between the Congress and the BJP. In the Delhi excise policy matter (there was) no recovery of money, no evidence, no nothing, par saare neta hamare jail chale gaye; par National Herald case mein Congress ka ek bhi neta jail nahin gaya hai (All our leaders went to jail in the Delhi excise policy matter, but not a single Congress leader has gone to jail in the National Herald case),” she said.
“How has this happened… This entire DLF land scam – has Robert Vadra gone to jail? No, he hasn’t. Commonwealth Games ka to poora matter hi close ho gaya (the entire Commonwealth Games case has been closed),” she said.
“Just look at the pattern – it is only cases of leaders who join the BJP that are closed… A similar thing is happening with Congress. What does this pattern tell you? How is it that Aam Aadmi Party netas go to jail … you are filing cases against TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee, against the daughter of CPM’s Pinarayi Vijayan. Why doesn’t this happen when it comes to the Congress? Why do their leaders not go to jail? So there is definitely an unstated alliance,” Atishi alleged.