Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta launched criticism against those who “disrespect” her, while claiming that they “don’t like” a woman CM working 24×7, citing the attack she faced for misspelling “AQI” (air quality index).
Gupta further alleged that she faces “baseless allegations” and “cheap comments” for mispronouncing words or accidentally saying something.
“They say why did she spell AQI as AIQ… They don’t like the fact that a woman Chief Minister is working 24/7. Sometimes they disrespect me, sometimes they make cheap comments,” Gupta said in the Delhi Assembly on Friday.
“Sometimes they make baseless allegations. They make fun of the words I accidentally utter. Anyone can make mistakes while speaking or mispronounce certain words. I made a mistake. But you did things deliberately.” Gupta further said.
Gupta was participating in a discussion on the ‘Motion of Thanks’ to Address given by Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena during the Winter Session of Delhi Assembly.
While posting the video of her speech on social media, Gupta stated that she had been “working non-stop for Delhi, day in, day out.” “And that’s what gets to them. They can’t stand it. They can’t handle it,” Gupta said alongside the clip.
Gupta also, during her speech, referenced her Bhagat Singh-‘Congress sarkar’ gaffe in the Delhi Assembly. “In my speech, I accidentally said ‘Congress’ instead of ‘British’. They started making reels on that. Words can come out mistakenly from someone’s mouth, either mine or yours,” the Delhi CM said.
Gupta had, earlier this week, highlighted the history of Delhi, wherein she mistakenly said ‘Congress’ instead of ‘British’. “Delhi has heard the revolution of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, when they threw the bomb against the deaf Congress government,” Gupta said at the 1-hour-45-minute mark of the official webcast of the proceedings.
Following this, Aam Aadmi Party leaders took digs at the Delhi CM, with MLA Sanjay Jha saying it was an “updated version of history.” “Today, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta ji has presented a new ‘updated’ version of history in the Delhi Assembly. Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev, who fought against the British regime, are now being portrayed as those who threw bombs against the Congress government,” Jha said in a post on X.
AAP Delhi chief Saurabh Bhardwaj said the Delhi CM had “embarrassed India.” “Even schoolchildren know that Shaheed Bhagat Singh threw a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly in 1929 in protest against the British government,” Bharadwaj said.
Gupta draws comparison with previous AAP govt
During her speech in the Delhi Assembly, Gupta also drew a comparison between her government’s 11 months in office and what she called as “11 years of mismanagement and corruption” under the Aam Aadmi Party government.
Gupta said her government had made health, education, transport and infrastructure, while alleging that essential services in Delhi had deteriorated over the past years due to lack of planning, according to an earlier HT report.
The Delhi CM highlighted the Ayushman Bharat scheme, Vandana Yojana, digitisation in hospitals, as well as initiatives like Jan Aushadhi Kendras, palna centres for working women, and more.
In the education sector, she said the was aimed at curbing arbitrary practices in private schools.
Gupta alleged that during the term of the past AAP government, there had been massive cost overruns in hospital projects, irregular electricity connections, and irrational water bills. The Delhi CM said her government had addressed these through legal metering, amnesty scheme for water dues, and time-bound GST refunds to traders.