Two AAP MLAs, Alka Lamba and Saurabh Bharadwaj, have been engaged in a bitter Twitter war over talks of alliance with the Congress for this year’s Lok Sabha polls in Delhi. The war of words between the two lawmakers erupted after Bharadwaj responded to a social media post of Lamba, who had commented on the Congress manifesto, released on Tuesday.
Even though, Lamba had not tagged Bharadwaj in her tweet, the MLA from Greater Kailash responded to her post and sarcastically asked, “What do you want? Full statehood or…” Bharadwaj had left the sentence incomplete but social media users had little doubt that he intended to ask if Lamba wanted to join the Congress.
She went on to add that she will inform her constituents about her performance as their MLA in 2020, when Delhi goes to assembly polls. When Bharadwaj asked her what her constituents wished from their leader, Lamba said that they wanted better education system, healthcare, water supply, electricity and pollution free environment. “They also want their leaders to be with them in good and bad times. They don’t want their leaders to make promises that they can’t deliver. Our people have already faced too much betrayal (from their leaders) and don’t want to be deceived again,” she added.
Bharadwaj asked her when she was planning to conduct her own mohalla sabha to ask her constituents on whether she should join the Congress. He ended the tweet by promising to be at Lamba’s mohalla sabha if she informed him about its time and date.
In her subsequent tweet, Lamba asked her supporters to gather outside the Jama Masjid at 3 pm on 3 April. She also told them that Bharadwaj too will be there and they were free to seek confirmation from the Greater Kailash MLA directly.
In February this year, Bharadwaj had accused Lamba of looking for excuses to leave the AAP to join the Congress.
Update: Lamba later addressed a group of supporters outside Jama Masjid and asked them if she should resign as an MLA. Her supporters responded in negative.