No communal riot on my watch: CM

NEW DELHI: In an unexpected address on the concluding day of the assembly session, chief minister Sheila Dikshit launched an indirect attack on Gujarat CM Narendra Modi saying that Delhi did not see a single instance of communal riots under her good governance. Friday was the last day of the assembly session of this government.

"We have maintained communal peace and harmony in Delhi for 15 years. If there is no communal riot in a state it's not just the people who are given its credit but also the good governance of the state machinery," said Dikshit. Her speech was opposed by the BJP-led opposition as it was not listed on the day's agenda.

The opposition, in fact, walked out of the house after urban development minister Arvinder Singh moved a resolution against them for disturbing the CM's speech.

Dikshit, however, continued her attack on BJP-led states and went on to list her government's achievements. "Despite Delhi's limited size and huge population, it caters to students from across the country. Who visits Gujarat? Our Universities cater to so many neighbouring states. Students from across India come here to study," added Dikshit.

Defending Delhi's image following the infamous Nirbhaya case, Dikshit said, "We have only had one rape case after which the opposition started calling Delhi the 'rape capital'. Why are they silent on such incidents frequently taking place in Madhya Pradesh? Why are they afraid of calling Madhya Pradesh 'a rape state'?"

Dikshit also challenged her detractors on the role of her government in scams related to the Commonwealth Games. "Whatever allegations were levied upon us, we have countered them point by point," shesaid.

Earlier, Dikshit had said the fact that her party was voted to power three times in a row is a proof of her government's good work. "Progress in Delhi is visible. What better proof do you (opposition) want of that than the fact that we were voted to power repeatedly for three times? However, I am warning you that the people of Delhi will not be misled by you (opposition party BJP)...," she said.

BJP leader V K Malhotra, however, said that the CM's speech was a "bag of lies". In a statement later, Malhotra said, "Since it's the last day of the assembly for this government, we had decided to maintain decorum in the house. But this unexpected speech that took away our time and restrained us from raising our issues in the assembly was misuse of the assembly house by the ruling party."