Sheila Dikshit ridicules AAP manifesto, says it will bankrupt govt

Attacking the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for its ‘unrealistic’ manifesto that it released on Wednesday for the Delhi Assembly election, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said that populism can work only if it’s realistic. In an interview to CNN-IBN, Dikshit said that AAP’s promise are unrealistic. “Giving away stuff for free will bankrupt the government,” she said. The AAP which is debuting in the December 4 election in Delhi, released its poll promises yesterday. Not only did the party promise to bring in the Lokpal within 15 days if it is voted into power, it also promised free water supply up to 700 litres per day, 50 percent reduction in power tariffs and “mohalla sabhas”, a quasi-governmental armed force for women’s security among other things. [caption id=“attachment_1219711” align=“alignright” width=“380”]  PTI[/caption] R Jagannathan in this _Firstpost_ article notes that large parts of Kejriwal’s manifesto are unworkable. …“large parts of the manifesto are about investing large amounts in health, education, security, and such-like things, but these call for more revenues to be raised from the citizens of Delhi. Is this ever going to be popular?” he writes. Dikshit also said that if she comes to power, she will work towards making NCR a unified Economic Zone. “If policies are not in tune with people’s aspirations, you get voted out. Will try to fulfill 15-year old dream of unified common structure in Delhi,” she said. The chief minister claimed the capital had the highest GDP growth in the country at 10.33 per cent in comparison to the national average of 8.33 per cent. “Plan to double the GDP figure in the next 5 years,” she added. Dikshit also told CNN-IBN that she doesn’t believe there will be a Hung Assembly in Delhi as predicted by many. She said that the Delhi election is only a fight between Congress and BJP and not any other parties. Dikshit also said that the Modi factor will not have any impact on Delhi Assembly Elections. “Congress has a 15-year track record in Delhi which Modi doesn’t have,” she said.