New Delhi, Apr 28 (IANS): Union Minister Vijay Goel here on Sunday slammed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over full statehood demand, saying he was raising the issue to hide his failures.

"For the development of Delhi, full statehood has never been a hindrance. The issue of full statehood is being raised by Kejriwal before elections just to hide his failures," Goel said addressing the media at BJP's Delhi unit office.

Hitting out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor, Goel said earlier Kejriwal was never in support of full statehood. "Now, he wants full statehood. Earlier, he tried all means to dent the cause," he said.

Accusing Kejriwal of being blinded by power, he said instead of taking everyone into confidence, the AAP leader abused all the opponents. Goel appealed people to vote for the BJP to free the city from Kejriwal's clutches.

Polling for all the seven seats in the national capital is scheduled in the sixth phase on May 12.

The BJP, which won all seven seats in 2014, is faced with triangular contests in the city after the Congress-AAP alliance talks failed.