Addressing his first public rally in Gujarat after winning the Punjab Assembly elections, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday, 1 May, urged people to give him a chance to “break the arrogance of the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party)” and implement the Delhi model of governance in the state.
At a gathering in Chanderia village of Bharuch district – where tribals form a sizeable chunk of the population – he took a dig at the BJP for creating the “world record in exam paper leaks” and criticised the education system in the state, reported The Indian Express.
“The Gujarat BJP has created a bizarre world record in exam paper leaks. They have broken all world records in paper leaks… I have heard that the Guinness Book Record officials held a meeting yesterday and they are going to add the BJP’s name in the list of maximum paper leaks.”Arvind Kejriwal, AAP chief
The AAP also announced an alliance with Chhotubhai Vasava’s Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) at the rally.
Kejriwal Promises Delhi Model of Education in Gujarat
The Delhi CM also narrated a purported chance encounter he had with a BJP leader on his flight to Surat who informed Kejriwal of BJP’s lax behaviour since “people are giving votes anyway.”
Kejriwal appealed to the citizens to give him a chance in Gujarat, and upon failing they can “throw us out.”
Kejriwal spoke of the AAP government’s achievements in the field of education in Delhi in the past seven years and claimed that over 4 lakh students are currently enrolled in Delhi government schools.
He alleged that schools in Gujarat, on the other hand, are in a dilapidated condition, with no teachers or one teacher for several classes, etc.
Kejriwal said that the BJP government, which has been in power for the past 27 years in Gujarat, has shut nearly 6,000 schools in the name of mergers.
“The AAP can change this… We have done this in Delhi and restored the glory of the schools… we can do this here,” he added.
The AAP chief said that tribals have faced a long history of injustice and oppression in the country and vowed that the AAP would stand with the poor and the tribals if elected to power.
Kejriwal noted the irony that the country's two richest men and the poorest tribals – both come from the state.
On Gujarat Polls
Kejriwal challenged the BJP to call early elections and vowed to defeat them on their home turf. He said that the BJP was afraid of the AAP, now that the latter has managed to form a government in both Delhi and Punjab. He said with the support of people, the AAP could defeat the BJP in the upcoming Gujarat polls.
“They (BJP) feel that if they give us time till December, Gujarat will turn towards AAP. But I am telling you I am a fakkad (poor happy person), I only have the hand of God and the support of the people… You (BJP) can conduct elections now or six months later, I will defeat you,” Kejriwal asserted.
(With inputs from The Indian Express.)
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