The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi said on Wednesday that it will take the issue of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCTD) Bill (Amendment) 2021 to every single person in the city to expose the BJP-led Central government's alleged hidden attempt to rule the national capital through backdoor entry.The party also accused the BJP of taking revenge from the people of Delhi for getting zero out of five seats in the recent municipal corporation bypolls.Gopal Rai, senior AAP leader and one of the cabinet ministers in the Arvind Kejriwal-led government, said, "The people of Delhi have elected the AAP government. But the BJP is trying to gain a backdoor entry into Delhi by bringing in this law. If they (BJP) have the nerve, they should compete with us on our work. I can guarantee you that in the next Assembly elections after four years, we will reduce the BJP to zero seats. We will go from door-to-door in the city and tell the people the reality behind the biggest conspiracy hatched against the people of Delhi."The party leadership, while protesting at Delhi's iconic Jantar Mantar on Wednesday, said that the BJP is worried with the AAP as the latter has received tremendous response in the civic and grassroots level elections held recently in several states.
"Recently, I visited Himachal Pradesh where people wearing AAP caps met us. They told us how they were waiting for us to arrive there. The BJP feels threatened because we are now getting votes in other states like Himachal Pradesh," said Deputy CM and senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia.Later, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that when the Assembly elections were held in 2015, people gave AAP 67 out of 70 seats, while in 2020, they again elected the AAP, giving it 62 out of 70 seats. In the MCD by-elections held recently, people gave 0 seats to the BJP, he said."People are rejecting the BJP for AAP, but the BJP doesn't want to accept this fact. They only want to rule Delhi through unfair means. They are doing this across the country. They hold elections but then dismantle the elected governments," Kejriwal said.On Monday, the Central government had tabled the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021, in the Lok Sabha, which redefines 'government' as the 'Lieutenant Governor' for Delhi in certain respects, effectively limiting the powers of the legislative Assembly in relation to the administrative functions.