Arvind Kejriwal slams ‘ally’ Congress’ govt schools in poll-bound Chhattisgarh, announces 10 ‘guarantees’
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal is on a day long visit to campaign in poll bound Chhattisgarh. At an election rally, Delhi chief minister Kejriwal slammed Opposition bloc INDIA alliance Congress, and their government in the state for ‘terrible’ condition of schools in the state.
The statement comes days after Congress spokesperson Alka Lamba has said Delhi Congress had been urged to make poll preparations for all seven seats. This sparked outraged in AAP leaders in Delhi who said there was ‘no point in having the INDIA alliance’ in such a case.
“It has been 76 years since India got its independence, but I have not seen a single party apart from AAP which says it will build schools and hospitals. We are not politicians and we didn’t enter politics to make money,” CM Kejriwal said at the elections rally.
“I was reading a report, government schools in Chhattisgarh are in terrible condition. However, look at the condition of government schools in Delhi. For the first time since Independence, a government has come that is doing so much for the education sector,” he slammed the Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel led state government.
Seeking to make inroads in Chhattisgarh, Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday announced ten “guarantees” for the upcoming assembly polls in the Congress-ruled state including free electricity, monthly `samman rashi’ for women and ₹3,000 monthly allowance for the unemployed.
Addressing an AAP workers’ convention here, the Delhi chief minister said his party’s governments in Delhi and Punjab have fulfilled the guarantees given to people, and if it comes to power in Chhattisgarh, it would do the same thing.
“Today I am giving you ten guarantees which are not like a fake manifesto or `sankalp patra’. Kejriwal will die (if it comes to it) but fulfill these promises,” he said. The guarantees included 24-hour uninterrupted power supply — free upto 300 units — to every household, waiver of pending electricity bills till November 2023, ₹1,000 monthly ‘samman rashi’ (honorarium) to all women aged above 18 years and free quality education to school children, he said.
As in Delhi, an AAP government will also provide free and better health treatment to every citizen of Chhattisgarh, mohalla clinics in every village and ward in cities, employment and allowance of ₹3,000 per month to those unemployed, free pilgrimage for senior citizens, corruption-free Chhattisgarh, ₹1 crore to the kin of personnel of state police and army jawans (who belong to Chhattisgarh) martyred in the line of duty as `samman rashi’ and regularize contractual employees, Kejriwal said.
The tenth guarantee is about farmers and tribals but he will reveal it during his next visit, he said. Kejriwal was accompanied by AAP leader and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann. Kejriwal had addressed a public rally in Bilaspur last month.
The AAP tried its luck for the first time in the assembly elections in Chhattisgarh in 2018 and fielded candidates in 85 of 90 seats but failed to achieve success. Chattisgarh is slated to go into polls later in 2023.
(With inputs from PTI)
Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
Updated: 19 Aug 2023, 05:12 PM IST
