Aam Aadmi Party’s national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann launched the party’s Lok Sabha campaign for the state at Kurukshetra on Sunday.
Joined by Haryana unit president and Kurukshetra Lok Sabha candidate of INDIA bloc Sushil Gupta and unit’s senior vice-president Anurag Dhandha, slogan “Badlenge Kurukshetra, badlenge Haryana, ibke INDIA ko jitana” was also introduced.
The AAP and the Congress will fight the Lok Sabha polls in alliance in Haryana. Under the tie-up, the AAP will contest from the lone Kurukshetra seat of the total 10 parliamentary seats in the state.
During his address, Kejriwal hit-out at the Union government for not allowing farmers to march towards Delhi, when they were asking for fair crop prices.
“They do not have the courage to fire tear gas shells at China and Pakistan, but they used it on farmers. They fired shells, used water cannons and rubber bullets on the protesting farmers, killing one of them. When floods hit the state and crops on lakhs of acres were damaged, the state government did not compensate the farmers. In all these situations, where were the 10 BJP MPs that were elected by the people?” asked Kejriwal.
He said the BJP says that it is winning 370 seats in the Lok Sabha polls. “They are openly saying they do not need your votes. I came from Delhi to seek your votes with folded hands. Sushil Gupta is going door to door to seek your votes. We need your votes to win elections. They (BJP) do not need your votes,” said Kejriwal.
{{/usCountry}}He said the BJP says that it is winning 370 seats in the Lok Sabha polls. “They are openly saying they do not need your votes. I came from Delhi to seek your votes with folded hands. Sushil Gupta is going door to door to seek your votes. We need your votes to win elections. They (BJP) do not need your votes,” said Kejriwal.
{{/usCountry}}Kejriwal invoked the Mahabharata and said Kurukshetra is a pious land where the ‘dharmayudh’ was fought. ‘Pandavas’ had won it despite ‘Kauravas’ having everything, said the AAP convener. At Kurukshetra, this is a contest “between dharam and adharam”, and you know whom to vote for, Kejriwal said.
State needs ‘new engine’, not ‘double engine’: Mann
Punjab CM Mann said the AAP, founded just 10 years ago, now has governments in two states, 10 members in Rajya Sabha, five MLAs in Gujarat, two MLAs in Goa, MCD in Delhi, mayors in Chandigarh, Sangroli in Madhya Pradesh and many others.
“The AAP government in Punjab has provided 42,992 jobs in just two years. Arvind Kejriwal says that one should not do politics of hatred, religion and caste but of work. He said earlier, the Aam Aadmi Party had given a guarantee of waiving off electricity bills, providing jobs and ₹1 crore to the martyrs. Now, the BJP is copying our way of working by promising guarantees. It is time that people go for a ‘new engine, rather than a ‘double engine’ government,” said Mann.