New Delhi: As campaigning intensified for the February 5 Assembly polls, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said the election in Delhi was not just a contest for political control of the national capital but the entire country. He said that the election pits two contrasting ideologies — one focused on the welfare of the general public and the other on benefiting a select group of wealthy individuals — against each other.
In a related development, the AAP is all set to launch its manifesto on Monday.
Addressing a press conference, the AAP supremo said: “This election is about deciding how taxpayers’ money should be spent. One ideology, represented by the BJP, uses public funds to waive loans worth thousands of crores for its close associates. The other, our AAP model, focuses on providing free electricity, education, health care and transport to benefit the common man.”
Hitting back, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said the AAP and its convenor have been completely sidelined in the Delhi election, and out of despair, facing defeat, they have resorted to the politics of deception and lies. “Today, we see that, gripped by the fear of certain defeat, the AAP is shouting day and night, claiming that if the BJP comes to power, the ongoing social welfare schemes will be discontinued.”
Slamming the BJP-led Centre, the former Delhi chief minister alleged that it had waived debts amounting to Rs 10 lakh crores of 400-500 industrialists during the past five years. “The BJP model gives the people’s money to its friends as loans and
then writes off those loans in two to three years. In contrast, the AAP model provides direct benefits to the public, including welfare schemes worth nearly Rs 25,000 per month for each household in Delhi,” he said.
Mr Kejriwal also accused the saffron party of planning to end all welfare schemes initiated by the AAP if it gains power in Delhi. “The BJP has already clarified it will stop free electricity, free bus rides (for women), and other benefits provided by the Delhi government. I ask people: will they be able to bear this cost if the BJP is elected?” he said.
He also lashed out at the BJP for labelling welfare measures as “freebies”, alleging that the saffron party was trying to create guilt among the middle class while itself offering massive concessions to big businesses.
“When the BJP waives loans worth thousands of crores for its friends, is that not a freebie?” he asked.
Elections to the 70-member Delhi Assembly will be held on February 5 and the votes counted on February 8. The AAP is seeking a third consecutive term in office while the BJP is attempting to regain power in the national capital for the first time since 1998. The Congress, meanwhile, is trying to regain lost ground and to open its account after two failed attempts.
