New Delhi: Former Army chief and Bharatiya Janata Party candidate General VK Singh has hit back at Aam Aadmi Party Ghaziabad candidate Shazia Ilmi for her remarks against him. General Singh said that the AAP is making irresponsible statements without knowing the facts.
"The AAP seems to have made a habit of making irresponsible statements with apparently little or no compulsion to stick with the truth. These hit-and-run tactics need to be questioned by the Election Commission, a body which is doing a difficult job in these trying times in an attempt to maintain some sense of decorum and decency in a scenario that at times veers off into a complete free-fall," General Singh said in a statement.
This came after Shazia Ilmi on Monday took on the BJP for giving a Lok Sabha ticket to General Singh, saying it had set a wrong precedent. Ilmi said that although every citizen has a right to get involved in active politics after retirement, the way the Bharatiya Janata Party was projecting Singh "is posing a dangerous trend".
"We have seen the fate of Pakistan... and the BJP is encouraging such trends in India for its narrow political aims," the Aam Aadmi Party leader told the media in Ghaziabad.
Regarding VK Singh's comment that the AAP was "anti-national", Ilmi mocked at the former general for forgetting even his date of birth. "What can we expect from him?" She recalled that he had once published an article in a newspaper praising AAP leader and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Following is the full text of General VK Singh's statement on Shazia Ilmi's remarks:
The AAP seems to have made a habit of making irresponsible statements with apparently little or no compulsion to stick with the truth. These hit-and-run tactics need to be questioned by the Election Commission, a body which is doing a difficult job in these trying times in an attempt to maintain some sense of decorum and decency in a scenario that at times veers off into a complete free-fall.
Shazia Ilmi's latest statement questioning my personal integrity is most unfortunate; especially since the two 'examples' she gives are both erroneous. As quoted by news agencies, she claimed that I was not even aware of my date of birth and had also written a newspaper article in the past wherein I had praised Arvind Kejriwal.
First and foremost, as a part of the AAP that claims to uphold honesty in governance, surely Ms Ilmi is aware of the fact that the 'age issue' was a creation of the UPA government which went out of its way to truncate my tenure as the Army Chief. Let me state quite bluntly that as far as I am concerned, there never has been any ambiguity about my DOB. Even before becoming the Army Chief, I had taken on corruption in the higher levels of the Army as in the Sukhna land deal and this had triggered off desperate attempts by unscrupulous elements both inside and outside government to somehow destroy my credibility. As a part of AAP that claims it is fighting corruption, I would expect Ms Ilmi to uphold my fight against the system rather than parrot the UPA government line which was a blatant distortion of facts.
Ms Ilmi also seems to have the rather strange habit of quoting from reports and articles that do not exist. It was not long ago that she had egg on her face after she quoted an NGO as having certified that corruption had gone down in the 49-days of the AAP's Delhi government. She now reverts to the same tactics and claims that I have praised Arvind Kejriwal in a published article. I think the Election Commission should call her bluff and ask her to produce the said article or interview or whatever that has me giving the AAP or its leader a certificate of merit.
The rise of the AAP was and is welcomed by all Indians who are today reeling under the ten years of corrupt governance of the UPA. However, the AAP when propped up by the Congress party was given a chance to govern Delhi, what did it do? Rhetoric and sensationalism is one thing, governance is another matter. AAP leaders including Ms Ilmi claim that in 49 days the AAP government did more than the combined administration of the BJP and the Congress over the last 16 years. If indeed that be the case, why on earth did Arvind Kejriwal and his government run away leaving the capital city in the lurch. Surely it owed it to the people who had placed faith in them to stand up and deliver. Bailing out of an aircraft at the first sign of turbulence leaving the passengers high and dry does not make for a good or responsible pilot.
Her contention that the BJP by giving me (a former Army Chief) a ticket has created a situation that is akin to what is happening in Pakistan needs to be explained. She needs to explain what exactly does she mean. Perhaps while she is at it, she can also explain why her party has in its publications and websites shown parts of Jammu and Kashmir as belonging to Pakistan. Surely, Ms Ilmi is aware of he fact that senior members from her party have been openly calling for a plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir.
May I remind Ms Ilmi that hundreds, nay thousands, of selfless Indians have paid the ultimate sacrifice in combatting Pakistan's evil designs since 1947-48 when tribal lashkars first made a grab for the Valley. Cynical politics are one thing, but to play up issues which are downright anti-national is not on. Surely in the interest of fairness and a sense of decency, Ms Ilmi should withdraw her statements which are completely untrue and in extreme bad taste.
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