AAP-Cong alliance credit goes to Lovely, says Sanjay; Cong leader hits back

AAP leader Sanjay Singh lauded Arvinder Singh Lovely on Monday for the party's Lok Sabha poll alliance with the Congress, a day after he resigned as the Delhi unit president of the grand old party criticising the tie-up.

Responding to the remark's of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, Lovely said when the INDIA opposition bloc was formed, he was not the Delhi Congress chief and added that Singh is suffering from "trauma" after coming out of jail.

Singh told a press conference here that the credit for his party's Lok Sabha poll alliance with the Congress in the national capital goes to Lovely as well.

"I say this with responsibility that Lovely played a crucial role in our alliance with the Congress. I am not aware of the reasons for his contrary views now," the Rajya Sabha MP said when asked for his comment on the Congress leader's resignation from the party post.

Reacting to his remarks, Lovely told PTI, "Sanjay Singh is a nice man, but I think he is still in trauma. He has not been able to get normal after coming out of jail.

"When the INDIA bloc was formed in April, I was not the president (of the Delhi Congress). I was not even the president when the second meeting of the bloc took place in Bengaluru. During the third meeting in Mumbai also, I was not the president. When I became the president, unfortunately, he (Singh) was sent to jail. How did he get to know that I was the architect (of the alliance)? It means there was someone in jail who used to bring him out."

Singh was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money-laundering case linked to the alleged liquor scam in Delhi. He is currently out on bail.

The AAP leader thanked Lovely while pointing out that he was the first Congress leader to reach Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence when the latter was arrested by the ED on March 21 and for his important role in the formation of the alliance between the two parties.

Singh, however, refused to comment further, saying Lovely's resignation is an internal matter of the Congress.

Responding to Lovely's comments on him, Singh told reporters, "I do not make personal comments. His party will take a decision (on him). I held him in high regard earlier and still have good wishes for him for the future.

"In Delhi, if the AAP and the Congress are fighting the election together, he had an important role to play. He is saying when the INDIA bloc was formed, he was not the Delhi Congress chief. I spoke about his role in the formation of the alliance. I praised him but he is questioning my memory. Even the prime minister does not doubt my memory."

Asked about his decision to resign as the Delhi Congress chief, Lovely said he had no grievance with the party and he resigned as he was "incapable" of handling issues within the organisation.

Taking a swipe at AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj, he said, "I want to thank Saurabh Bharadwajji. I didn't know that the BJP's (poll) tickets are distributed by him, otherwise I would have gone to him."

He was referring to Bharadwaj's post on X indicating that Lovely might join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"I have no grievance. I thought I was incapable of giving my 100 per cent. That is why I told the party about the issues it should work on. I was not capable of working on these issues. The party should appoint someone else," he said.

"I have constantly maintained that I have resigned from the post of (Delhi) Congress president and not from the party," he added.

Lovely further said he was not comfortable with the "working style" of two Lok Sabha poll candidates fielded by the Congress high-command in the national capital.

"I have no issues (regarding the candidates fielded by the high-command). I have an issue with their working style. I felt uncomfortable because of their working style, that is all," he said.

In his resignation letter, Lovely, who took the reins of the Delhi Congress in August last year, criticised the party's alliance with the AAP and decision to field Kanhaiya Kumar and Udit Raj from the North East Delhi and North West Delhi constituencies respectively in the ongoing parliamentary polls.

The Delhi Congress was against the alliance but the party high-command went ahead with it, Lovely said as his resignation brought the differences over the tie-up to the fore.

Under a seat-sharing agreement between the two constituents of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), the Congress has fielded candidates from three of the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi.

The AAP is contesting the remaining four seats. The arrangement was agreed upon even as the two parties decided to contest the polls independently in Punjab.