NEW DELHI: Falling back on Lord Rama is in. Arvind Kejriwal is no different. Invoking Ram in his speech at the Delhi Assembly on Wednesday, the chief minister in all probability set a fresh line for his party members and supporters to follow. A day after tabling a ‘patriotic’ budget, Kejriwal said his government is inspired by the concept of ‘Ram Rajya’ and has been trying to establish something similar in the national capital.
“Inspired by the principles of Ram, our government is trying to have Ram Rajya in Delhi for the last six years. We have created 10 principles inspired by the idea of Ram Rajya,” Kejriwal told the Assembly after budget presentation. With eyes on polls in states like Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, where AAP will be contesting next year, Kejriwal playing the Hindu card appears to be a part of strategy.
He said he is a devotee of Ram and that his principles will guide his governance. It was also announced that in the next few years, the AAP government will arrange free visits for the elderly to Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. He added that among the 10 principles, providing food, education, medical care, electricity, water supply, employment, housing, women security, honouring the elderly are the priorities of his government. “No one should go to sleep hungry, whether there is a pandemic or not.
For this, our government adopted numerous measures and formulated various policies” said Kejriwal. Kejriwal also criticised the neighbouring states for the ‘dismal conditions’ of schools and said that UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s administration is worried about the truth becoming public. After saying that he is an ardent devotee of Lord Hanuman during Assembly election campaigning last year, Kejriwal seems to be trying to woo voters by talking about his Hindu roots.
In the last few months, the Kejriwal government has lent support to the farmer agitation and has been labelled ‘anti-India’ by a section of the Bharatiya Janata Party. In an unrelated statement, the chief minister appealed the legislators inside the House to get vaccinated like any other ‘aam aadmi’ and then spread awareness at their own levels about the benefits of taking thre shot. Kejriwal added that he and his parents have taken the dose from a hospital nearby and they all feel fine.