CM Kejriwal hails historic ‘employment Budget’, steps up attack on BJP

The ₹75,800-crore Budget for 2022-23, presented on Saturday, was passed by the assembly after the discussion on Tuesday.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said that while other parties discussed unemployment only during election campaigns, the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi has come out with India’s first Rozgar (employment) Budget.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. (HT_PRINT)

Participating in a discussion on the Delhi Budget 2022-23 in the assembly, the chief minister said, “Unemployment has always been discussed before polls, but political parties forget about unemployment after coming to power. Even in big states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar political parties did not promise 20 lakh jobs,” Kejriwal said, referring to the Delhi Budget that has laid a plan to create 2 million jobs.

The ₹75,800-crore Budget for 2022-23, presented on Saturday, was passed by the assembly after the discussion on Tuesday.

Kejriwal also hailed the announcement by party’s government in Punjab to provide 25,000 jobs in its first cabinet meeting.

He added that the Delhi’s ‘Rozgar Budget’ will set a trend, and other parties will also have to talk about employment.

Kejriwal said that patriotism, commitment to honesty, and humanity are the three pillars of AAP’s ideology. He said while other government only talked about removing beggars, his government in Delhi has come up with a plan to build a boarding school for street children. “We believe in humanity and love for the country, which is why we are spending ₹10 crore on building a state-of-the-art boarding school for homeless children. No government bothered about the homeless children on the street. Some governments brought anti-begging laws and locked them up in shelter homes. Just think of those kids who perform cartwheels and similar stunts on the roads. Can’t we train and upskill them into Olympic gymnasts? All they need is care and supervision?” Kejriwal said.

The chief minister also spoke on his government’s tussle with the Centre over the implementation of various schemes such as Mohalla Clinics, CCTVs installation and the doorstep ration delivery scheme. “They hindered ‘Mohalla clinic’ files, then they restricted the files on CCTVs but somehow we got them passed. For the last 25 years, governments were meant to delay and hinder the work. For the first time, there’s a government that believes in working for people,” he said.

“Centre keeps putting roadblocks in our projects in Delhi but God has given us an opportunity to implement them in Punjab,” Kejriwal said.

Naming several scams that have surfaced in the past, Kejriwal said that in the past the governments only cared about stopping the progress of the common man, and hindering their empowerment. He added that corruption should be declared an anti-national act.

Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said Kejriwal asked to seek public suggestions before making the budget. “The people of Delhi gave realistic solutions and the Delhi government adopted them in the Budget. In this Budget, we have spoken about creating 20 lakh new jobs in the next five years, and everyone knows that CM Arvind Kejriwal delivers on what he commits,” Sisodia said.

Leader of opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, however, called the Budget “directionless and irresponsible”. “The growth rate in last seven years under the AAP has come down to 67.7% as against 147.6% growth earlier. Delhi’s fiscal deficit is also increasing continuously,” Bidhuri said.

Criticising the ‘Rozgar Budget’, Bidhuri said the AAP government was running away from the responsibility of providing employment. “In the name of the Rozgar Budget, the AAP government is trying to fool the people. The Delhi government could not provide permanent jobs to more than 2 lakh people working in its departments on a temporary basis. These include contract workers, guest teachers, Anganwadi workers and helpers, Asha workers, and vocational trainers. In the last seven years, a total budget of more than ₹3.7 lakh crores has been presented in Delhi, but the outcome is zero. Delhi did not get a single new bus in seven years, did not get a new school or college, roads were not expanded and Yamuna too could not be cleaned,” Bidhuri said.