The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will release its manifesto for the Lok Sabha election on April 25, a senior party leader said on Friday.
The document will contain details of AAP’s demand for full statehood, which is the central election theme for the party.
The party has constituted a seven-member manifesto team, which will be headed by Manish Sisodia.
Delhi University professor Manoj Kumar Singh will head its research team.
“The final approval to the manifesto will be given by Mr. Sisodia. Inputs have been provided to the team by several members of the party,” the leader said.
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He added that the document will trace the journey of the party in forming the government in Delhi, the good work done and the problems faced due to the Capital not being a full State. It will also highlight the benefits of full statehood and the progress that can be made in the fields of higher education, employment rate, DDA, police, and taxation if Delhi becomes a full State.
AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said a lot of statements have been given by the party’s political rivals to hide their respective “unjustified stands” of denying the people of Delhi their legitimate right of full statehood.
“It is being said that since Delhi is the Capital, therefore, it is practically not possible to give it status of full statehood. This is a farcical argument given by leaders who have not even bothered to read the relevant laws and check parliamentary records,” Mr. Bharadwaj said.
The manifesto is likely to spell out the other details of the party’s demands for full statehood and will make comparisons with other large cities across the world.
He added that no government or political party has ever demanded that the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) area, which has the Rashtrapati Bhawan, Supreme Court of India, Parliament House, Central government offices and embassies of different countries, be under the control of the government.
He added that the people of Delhi want to keep the NDMC area separate but get statehood for the rest of the city through a Constitutional amendment.
“The Delhi Development Authority, police and civic bodies need to be fully under the control of the government,” he added.