No politics over patriotism, Kejriwal implores in House

“I want to ask the BJP — if not in India, will our flag be unfurled in Pakistan? If not in Delhi, will the Indian flag be unfurled in Islamabad?” Kejriwal said in his speech in the Assembly, concluding discussions on the 2021-22 budget, which was passed by the House on Friday.

Speaking in the state assembly on the last day of the budget session, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said there should be no politics over patriotism, which was the theme of the Delhi Budget released earlier this week.

The Delhi government in the Budget, presented on Tuesday, allocated ₹45 crore to set up national flags across 500 locations in the city. (ANI Photo)

“I want to ask the BJP — if not in India, will our flag be unfurled in Pakistan? If not in Delhi, will the Indian flag be unfurled in Islamabad?” Kejriwal said in his speech in the Assembly, concluding discussions on the 2021-22 budget, which was passed by the House on Friday.

The Delhi government in the Budget, presented on Tuesday, allocated ₹45 crore to set up national flags across 500 locations in the city.

The budget session in the Assembly was adjourned on Friday, ahead of schedule, with speaker Ram Niwas Goel citing risks posed by the uptick in Covid-19 cases in the Capital over the past few days.

Kejriwal also said, “I fail to understand why the BJP and the Congress are opposing the setting up of flags across Delhi. What makes them oppose this? This is a remarkable move, they should support it. There should be no politics when it comes to patriotism… Keeping politics aside, we have supported the Central government in every good decision that they have made until now. I remember, PM announced Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan in 2014, I went to a slum area with a broom. I remember going to India Gate with a yoga mat when the PM announced a Yoga initiative. This year we have planned a Yoga programme for Delhi.”

“After I announced that we will provide free pilgrimage to the Ram temple in Ayodhya for the elders in Delhi under an existing government scheme, the BJP and the Congress have been criticising the decision. I do not understand why. Is it a crime to provide our elders with a free pilgrimage to a place of worship such as Ayodhya?” said Kejriwal.

During the day’s proceedings, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia reiterated that the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) idea of patriotism stresses on “quality education, good governance and equality”.

Speaking before Kejriwal, Sisodia, who is also Delhi’s finance minister, said, “Delhi’s development is patriotism for us. Good schools, good hospitals, good facilities for all, equality, cleanliness, generating jobs, endorsing artists, supporting the marginalised is patriotism for us. If we carry patriotism in one hand, we carry the Constitution in another. We are not like the BJP which carries so-called patriotism in one hand and a knife in the other. Your [the BJP’s] way of being patriotic is dangerous.

“You talk about patriotism and you stopped protesting farmers from reaching Delhi. You put iron nails on roads and blocked their way. You have been calling farmers traitors. The same farmers’ sons are also serving the country at the borders. Shame on you,” he said.

His comments led to a heated exchange between BJP and AAP legislators in the House, after which the eight BJP MLAs staged a walk-out. The AAP has 62 MLAs in the 70-member Assembly.

Leader of Opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said, “The government is talking about Singapore, travelled all the way to 2047 in the garb of presenting a vision. I am not sure who among us will be alive to see if per-capita income in Delhi touches Singapore’s per-capita by 2047… They have announced free Covid-19 vaccines at the centres in Delhi government hospitals. But how many people go to these hospitals? They are so bad. This reflects in the poor turnout at the vaccine centres in Delhi government hospitals. Bike ambulances in Delhi are yet not functional and the government does not address the issue in the upcoming budget”.

His party colleague, Anil Bajpai, said, “It is good Kejriwal has adopted Ram Rajya, but he will have to go through an ‘Agni Pariksha’ (test of fire) to achieve it.”

Delhi Congress vice president Mudit Agarwal said in a statement, “CM Kejriwal is again spreading lies by saying that Congress party has objections over people of Delhi going to Ram Mandir and over 500 Flags, I would like to remind CM Kejriwal that the policy of Pilgrim Visit was started during Sheila Ji’s (former chief minister Sheila Dikshit) regime.”