Talk to AK: Kejriwal to take queries today

NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will interact with people from across the country at 11 am on Sunday as part of his ‘Talk to AK initiative’ even

NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will interact with people from across the country at 11 am on Sunday as part of his ‘Talk to AK initiative’ even as the opposition BJP was critical of the move.

HT Image

The Delhi government said it had received at least 20,000 queries, mostly from states where the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would contest the elections, prompting the BJP to ask the ruling party to stick to issues related to Delhi.

“If the chief minister Arvind Kejriwal wants to answer questions related to Punjab and other states then the cost of publicity and telecast of this programme should be borne by the AAP,” said Satish Upadhyay, Delhi BJP president.

Upadhyay said it was clear that the CM would answer comfortable questions selected out of the lot, most likely from states such as Punjab and Goa. “The programme should be specifically for the people of Delhi whose CM Arvind Kejriwal is but it is actually planned for Kejriwal’s political expansion and people of Delhi will have to bear its expenses,” he added.

The interaction will be live streamed on the website www. talktoak.com.

According to officials, a majority of questions are about AAP’s plan for Punjab and drug addiction. Queries about AAP’s model of governance are also coming in.

A few have questions about the tussle between the AAP and the Centre over a range of issues. “Some are asking why the central government is not letting us work,” the source said.

“It’s an ongoing process. It will be difficult to give any number on the questions received by the team. But the response is overwhelming with people asking questions on range of issues from civic to health and corruption,” said a Delhi government official.

A team is busy segregating questions and dividing it into categories. People have been sending questions through Facebook, Twitter, SMS and email.

A contact number is given on the website and those wishing to ask a live question can do so by dialling the number. The session will be moderated by music director and AAP supporter Vishal Dadlani.

Ravinder Gupta, mayor of north MCD, released a list of 18 questions the public could ask Kejriwal during the programme. These include schools opened by the AAP and the status of Wi-Fi.

A government spokesperson said any question was welcome.

The AAP is running a high-octane campaign in Punjab, ahead of the assembly elections in 2017. It will contest in Goa and Gujarat.