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Kejriwal launches attack on BJP in Himachal rally
“I don’t understand why papers are being leaked in Gujarat, Haryana and Himachal. Why doesn’t it happen in our Delhi?” asked Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi chief minister and AAP national convener, who was on a short tour to the mountain state with his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann.
Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday criticised states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over cases of examination paper leaks and challenged rival parties to seek votes on employment.
“I don’t understand why papers are being leaked in Gujarat, Haryana and Himachal. Why doesn’t it happen in our Delhi?” asked the Delhi chief minister, who was on a short tour to the mountain state with his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann. Kejriwal interacted with students, parents and teachers at the town hall in Hamirpur, home turf of BJP’s Anurag Thakur, Union minister of sports, youth affairs, and information and broadcasting.
“Are the papers leaked or getting leaked?” he questioned, taking a jibe at the BJP government in the three states. “The BJP government will be in the Guinness Book of World Records for the paper leaks that happened during its rule. It shows how much it cares for the future of children.”
Reiterating his party’s stance, Kejriwal said that education, health and a better future for children were the main poll planks of his party in Himachal Pradesh. “You must not have heard or seen any other party debating on education during the election times,” he added.
“Education is not the agenda for other parties, but we are concerned about the children,” he said, drawing a parallel between schools in Delhi and other states.
“When we assumed office in Delhi, its schools and education were in dire straits. We first allotted 25% budget only for improving schools and streamlining the education system in the Capital,” he said, claiming that his government has spent nearly ₹85,000 crore to improve the education infrastructure at 1,100 schools.
He castigated chief minister Jai Ram Thakur-led BJP government over the “poor state of education” in Himachal.
“So many schools in Himachal are being operated without teachers. There are 722 schools which are running in a single room,” he said. It was “shameful that in 55 schools, not even a single student passed Class 10 and 12 examinations”.
The AAP will provide a third alternative to the voters in Himachal. “The Congress and the BJP destroyed the education system in the state,” he said.
“In the last seven years, not even a single school raised its fee in Delhi and now my counterpart Bhagwant Mann has done the same in Punjab,” Kejriwal added. “A government should be honest and responsive. Delhi people changed the future of their children and now it’s our turn.”
If BJP and Congress leaders have courage, ask them to seek votes in the name of education and employment, Kejriwal added.
Punjab chief minister Mann during his brief speech spoke about how the people ousted the Congress and the Akalis in Punjab. He too asked the voters to give a chance to the AAP in Himachal Pradesh.
The BJP hit out at Kejriwal, saying that anti-social activities increased after the AAP came in power in Punjab.
“There had been a rocket-propelled grenade attack on a police building while acclaimed singer Sidhu Moose Wala was shot dead in broad daylight,” said HP chief minister’s political adviser and party’s general secretary Trilok Jamwal.
“Instead of deriving political mileage from non-issues, Kejriwal should concentrate on Punjab and make things better there,” he added.
Jamwal also criticised the AAP over its claims of zero-tolerance for corruption. “Ministers in Delhi and Punjab are facing corruption-related inquiries and are behind bars,” he said, citing examples of Punjab health minister Vijay Singla’s arrest.
