NEW DELHI: It was an Arvind Kejriwal seldom seen and heard at a town hall event on Thursday, as the chief minister recounted his journey as an activist, days when he sat in protest with corruption crusader Anna Hazare and shared his experience over the last five years. The event saw the CM in a free-wheeling interaction with the people of his Assembly constituency — New Delhi.
Presenting ‘AAP Ka Report Card’, Kejriwal listed 10 major achievements of the Aam Aadmi Party government in sectors ranging from education, health to power and water, apart from women’s safety. He also took questions from the audience at a packed Malavankar auditorium of the Constitution Club on Thursday.“When we formed the government, only 58% of Delhi’s colonies received tap water. The rest took care of their household needs with water supplied by tankers.
Not a single government which came before could even provide tap water to Delhi residents. Now we are seeing them (BJP) launch countrywide schemes to conserve groundwater and take tap water down to the last citizen. Why could they not do it in Delhi in all these years? They could have, with the right intent,” Kejriwal said in reply to a question.
The quality of drinking water in the national capital has emerged as a big political talking point ahead of the Assembly elections, with the BJP hitting out at the AAP citing a study report, which said the potable water in the city isn’t safe for consumption. However, the AAP was quick to dismiss the report as a conspiracy against the government.
Kejriwal said his party and government worked sincerely for the betterment of the city’s unauthorised colonies. He claimed the other parties played politics on the issue of unauthorised colonies and sought votes on promises they never fulfilled.“Initially, after the formation of our government, officers cited legal processes as excuses.
However, we changed all that. Proper roads and drains have been built in 1,281 unauthorised colonies and sewer lines have been laid in 1,130. We have also laid water pipes in 1,594 colonies,” the CM said. While the CM was addressing the audience, a group started raising slogans in the name of Delhi Cantonment MLA Surinder Singh. The chanting drew a sharp response from the CM, who said, “We are here to change Delhi, not to decide party tickets.”