AAP slams Rekha govt over waterlogging

New Delhi: Alleging national capital’s roads have turned into “pools” following heavy rain on Thursday, the AAP lambasted the BJP government over severe waterlogging and termed the deaths in rain-related incidents as “murders”.

The opposition party’s criticism has sparked a war of words between the ruling BJP and AAP, which was in power in the city for over 10 years until February.

BJP, when it was in the opposition in Delhi, used to attack the Arvind Kejriwal government over the issue of waterlogging, which had become a recurring phenomenon in recent years during the monsoon. While AAP leaders, including former chief minister Atishi, shared visuals of inundated Delhi streets, slamming the government for “lack of preparedness” for the monsoon, Delhi minister Kapil Mishra blamed the AAP for its “12-year loot”.

In a letter to Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Atishi demanded that PWD minister Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma be dismissed from the cabinet over a tree-falling incident in Kalkaji in which a man was killed and his daughter was seriously injured.

Verma must take moral responsibility, she said.

Sharing a video posted by an X user on the Kalkaji incident, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal said, “What condition the BJP people have brought Delhi to in just a few months.”

Hitting back, Delhi Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra on X said, “Shameless, indeed! You looted and ruined Delhi for 12 years, then ran off to Punjab, and now, you’re blaming the BJP over a fallen tree?

“Delhi will definitely change, but this shamelessness of dancing around with the report card of its own failure is only possible in AAP!” Mishra said in a post in Hindi.

Atishi, in her letter to CM Gupta, highlighted multiple incidents that have happened during this monsoon season.

“Many more people have lost their lives in this year’s rains -- each a preventable tragedy had there been foresight, infrastructure readiness and decisive governance. Instead, Delhi’s citizens are forced to wade through waterlogged streets, navigate collapsing trees, and live in constant fear during every spell of rain,” said the leader of the opposition in Delhi.