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Kejriwal promises free bus rides for students if voted back to power
New Delhi:
New Delhi:
Taking a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said the saffron party had seven CM candidates for the coming assembly elections and promised AAP would reduce air pollution, clean the Yamuna and offer free bus rides to students if voted to power.
Addressing his fourth town hall in East Delhi’s Trilokpuri’s on Friday, Kejriwal expressed the confidence that AAP would win the Delhi elections.
Assembly polls were likely to be held in Delhi before February 15. AAP had swept the 2015 elections in the national Capital, winning 67 of the 70 seats.
Asked if this election would be a battle of personalities, Kejriwal said, “The BJP has seven chief ministerial candidates for Delhi. Assembly elections in Delhi would be fought on the basis of work done… Prime minister Narendra Modi won’t come and become the chief minister of Delhi. He is welcome to campaign in the city though,” Kejriwal said.
The chief minister’s remarks came a day after AAP put up posters across the city wishing a “very happy new year to all seven chief minister candidates of Delhi BJP, Gautam Gambhir, Manoj Tiwari, Vijay Goel, Hardeep Singh Puri, Harsh Vardhan, Vijender Gupta and Parvesh Singh”.
Replying to a question about AAP’s defeat in last year’s general elections, he gave the example of Odisha and said people vote differently in Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
Will take a dip in clean Yamuna before 2025 elections
Adding to his list of priorities for the next five years, Kejriwal said if re-elected, his government planned to make the Yamuna river so clean that people would be able to take a dip in it.
“In Yamuna, a lot of sewer water and industrial waste flows. We have identified all of it. I can say this with complete confidence that within the next five years, Yamuna would be clean. Before the next elections, you all would be able to take a bath in Yamuna, and I will take a dip along with you then. We will clean Yamuna to that level,” he said.
Free bus rides for students
Kejriwal also promised that his government would offer free bus rides to students just like the ongoing free rides for women. He said the government had enough funds to extend the scheme to students.
The chief minister said his government was constantly working to improve public transport in the city and new buses were being added to the fleet.
“Apart from that, a set of luxury buses will be added to the fleet of buses, which would target people owning four-wheelers. These buses will be equipped with top-class facilities such as air conditioning and TV screens. We are also working towards the integration of transportation in Delhi,” Kejriwal said.
Hindustan Times had on November 29, 2018, reported about the Delhi government’s plan to bring back its premium bus scheme.
My job is to ensure peace in Delhi: Kejriwal on CAA protests
Asked why he did not meet the injured in the ongoing protests against the citizenship act and the NRC or engage in a dialogue with protestors, Kejriwal said, “People have voted me so that Delhi’s law and order remains intact. I was doing everything I could to ensure the protests remained peaceful and that the police did not engage in any kind of excesses against the protestors.”
The CM said the Citizenship (Amendment) Act will affect both Hindus and Muslims. He appealed to the Centre with “folded hands” to roll back the “controversial legislation” and address real issues such as price rise and unemployment.
“We don’t need this law, it is completely unnecessary. Where will we accommodate two crore Hindus from Pakistan?” Kejriwal said.
