Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal, who is gearing up for the Gujarat assembly elections, has promised several ‘free’ schemes from the state. He has announced free of cost pilgrimage to electricity to senior citizens. Elections are likely to be held in the state later this year. AAP, which recently conquered Punjab, has promised to provide 300 units of free electricity in the state from July 1.
Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal has promised that if voted to power in Gujarat, he will make several pilgrimages to senior citizens, including Ayodhya, free of cost in AC trains. Kejriwal accused the BJP of “failing” on several fronts during its nearly three-decade rule in the state. He also promised free electricity, better schools and hospitals if AAP forms the next government in Gujarat.
Addressing a rally in Rajkot city, Kejriwal accused the BJP of “failing” on the education, health and employment fronts in Gujarat despite its long rule. Highlighting the reforms made in the education sector after becoming the Chief Minister in Delhi, Kejriwal also accused the BJP government of shutting down around 6,000 government schools in Gujarat meant for the ‘poor’ people.
He said, “The BJP has been in power in Gujarat for 27 years, but it has never sent a single person on a pilgrimage. In all these years, did he send anyone to Ayodhya? In Delhi, the AAP government has sent 50,000 elderly people on pilgrimage in just three years. We have sent them free of cost to places like Mathura, Haridwar and Vrindavan under our plan.”
Kejriwal said, “If we come to power in Gujarat, we will take every elderly citizen on a pilgrimage for free. We will send them in an air-conditioned train and make arrangements for their stay in air-conditioned hotel rooms.
He also said, “AAP is a party of educated, honest and patriotic people. I urge people to give us a chance, at least to break the arrogance of BJP. If you do not find our work satisfactory, you are free to choose any other party in the next election after five years.”
He claimed that even though the Chief Minister of Gujarat is Bhupendra Patel, the government is being run by state BJP president CR Patil. Attacking the BJP, the Delhi Chief Minister said that the BJP is in power only to ‘loot’ the people of Gujarat.
He alleged, “If we can fix government schools in five years, why couldn’t the BJP do the same in Gujarat in 27 years? Because they came to power only to rob the people. If Delhi government can stop private schools from increasing fees, why can’t BJP do the same in Gujarat? Because the BJP has nexus with the private school owners here.”
The AAP leader asked those present at the rally whether he looked like a “thug” as alleged by Gujarat BJP president Patil recently. He then asked the people who attended the rally to raise their hands if they felt that Patil was a ‘thug’. At this everyone raised their hands. The AAP leader said that if people want free electricity for 24 hours like in Delhi, then they should vote for his party.
(with agency input)