NEW DELHI: Arvind Kejriwal, who is leading the AAP campaign to win a third consecutive term in Delhi, is under all-round attack with both the BJP and the Congress going all out to target the former chief minister. While the BJP leaders attacked Kejriwal over opening of liquor stores, the Congress accused him of harbouring an anti-Dalit mindset.
BJP leader and Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini on Tuesday accused Arvind Kejriwal of “exploiting” poor people and said that the latter talks about improving education but opens liquor stores on every street.
“Kejriwal talks about improving education but opens liquor stores on every street. He has deprived the poor people of Delhi of basic amenities. This is the first time in history that a chief minister and several of his ministers have gone to jail. This has never happened in any other state. Now, people have lost trust in him. The people of Delhi are waiting for February 5; on February 8, the ‘Lotus government’ will be formed,” CM Saini said.
“In the last 10 years, Arvind Kejriwal has played with the emotions of the poor people and has exploited them. Arvind Kejriwal says that we (BJP) have copied AAP’s Sankalp Patra – I want to make it clear that we don’t want to go to Tihar by copying Arvind Kejriwal’s Sankalp Patra,” he added.
BJP leader Parvesh Verma, who is pitted against Kejriwal in the New Delhi seat, accused the former Delhi chief minister of misusing official machinery of AAP-ruled Punjab in his constituency fearing defeat in the upcoming polls.
‘AAP has Anti-dalit mindset’
Congress leader Udit Raj accused the Arvind Kejriwal-led party of having an anti-Dalit mindset. Addressing a press conference, the former Lok Sabha MP said, “Till now, the Aam Aadmi Party has not clarified when will it fulfil its promise of providing Rs 18,000 per month to granthis and priests.”
“Kejriwal had promised to provide Rs 18,000 monthly to granthis and temple priests, but the same benefit was not extended to Buddhist monks, Valmiki priests or church priests. This is a discriminatory step against Dalits,” he said.
Pointing out that of the 11 members nominated by the AAP to the Rajya Sabha, not one is Dalit, the Congress leader claimed that this reflects the party’s “anti-Dalit” stance.
‘All they do is abuse me’
Meanwhile, Kejriwal, undeterred by these political attacks, criticised the BJP and accused it of neglecting Delhi’s development and targeting his government instead. “They never tell what they have done for Delhi in the last 10 years. All they do is abuse me and call me names,” Kejriwal said.
The AAP supremo also cautioned voters in his constituency and said six-hour power outages will resume in the national capital if the BJP comes to power.
Addressing a ‘janasabha’ in the Adarsh Nagar constituency, Kejriwal emphasised the transformation of Delhi under his leadership.
Talking about electricity supply, he said, “Today, Delhi gets 24 hours of electricity. Ten years ago, there used to be six-hour power cuts. BJP governs 20 states, yet none of them gets 24-hour electricity. If you press the wrong button, Delhi will return to six-hour power cuts. The moment you press ‘Kamal ka button’, electricity will be gone before you reach home.”
He also underscored Delhi’s affordable electricity rates. “In Gujarat, a 400-unit bill amounts to Rs 4,500. But if you press the wrong button here, soon you’ll be paying Rs 10,000 for electricity,” Kejriwal warned. Stressing on his government’s focus on welfare, he remarked, “If God asks me what I did on earth, I’ll say I provided education for the poor.”
‘Punjab CM takes dig at BJP’
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, who is conducting roadshows in support of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidates, took digs at the BJP and said “Earlier, they used to call Kejriwal’s welfare schemes freebies, but now they themselves are announcing free schemes. However, they will not deliver anything.”
The Punjab CM appealed to people to vote for AAP. During the Shakur Basti roadshow, a balloon bearing the BJP’s election symbol, the lotus, was floating in the air.
The balloon was deflating, Mann remarked on it humorously and showed it to the people, saying, “This is a sign that BJP’s hype has already been deflated in the Delhi Assembly elections. The same will happen on the day of the results.”
