NEW DELHI: The Opposition BJP termed the Kejriwal government's 'Rozgar' budget "disappointing", as it showed a decline in GDP and rise in fiscal deficit.
Participating in a discussion on the budget in Delhi Assembly's budget session, Leader of Opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri claimed in a statement that the GDP growth rate in the seven years of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has "come down to 67.7 per cent as against 147.6 per cent earlier".
"Delhi's fiscal deficit is increasing continuously," he said.
In 2020-21, it increased to Rs 9,972.96 crore.
This deficit has almost doubled in 2021-22 to Rs 18,776.67 crore, he said in the House.
"This budget is disappointing and directionless. The Delhi government could not provide permanent jobs to more than two lakh people working in its departments on a temporary basis. These include contract workers, guest teachers, Anganwadi workers and helpers, Asha workers, and vocational trainers," Bidhuri said, referring to the budget promise of creating 20 lakh jobs by the AAP government in the next five years.
The government has also failed on education, health, transport and other fronts, Bidhuri charged.
"On May 19, 2019, in a tweet, Chief Minister Kejriwal said that we have built 22 thousand classrooms in Delhi in five years. On February 19, 2022, he tweeted that we have got 20 thousand rooms built. Now the government is saying that 13 thousand 181 rooms have been built. What is true and what is false, only the government can tell us," he said.
As the chief minister rose to speak on the budget, the BJP legislators raised slogans demanding that Kejriwal apologise for allegedly making "mockery" of Kashmiri Pandits.
Speaker Ram Niwas Goel ordered marshals to remove BJP MLAs Anil Bajpai and Jitendra Mahajan.
Following this the Leader of Opposition and other party MLAs boycotted the chief minister's speech.
Hardcore patriotism, diehard honesty and humanity are the three pillars of the AAP's ideology and the 2022-23 Delhi budget reflects these, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Tuesday and accused the Centre of doing everything to stop his government from working for the people.
Kejriwal also said that the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and demonetisation has increased unemployment in the last few years.
Replying to a discussion on the budget in the assembly, the chief minister alleged that the Congress and the BJP "robbed" the country in the last 75 years.
These parties have a long list of scams, he said.
Kejriwal, who is the AAP's national convener, said his government has prepared the "Rozgar Budget" to deal with the issue of unemployment.
It is for the first time after independence that a "Rozgar Budget" has been presented by any government, he asserted.
"The budget presented in the assembly is not an ordinary document, it is historical. A 'Rozgar Budget' has been presented for the first time in independent India," Kejriwal said.
"The budget has been prepared to bring happiness to all. We have brought the 'Rozgar Budget' because of our ideology. Hardcore patriotism, diehard honesty and humanity are the three pillars of our (AAP's) ideology," he said.
Later talking to reporters on the Delhi assembly's premises, Kejriwal attacked the Centre, saying that the implementation of the GST and demonetisation coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the job scenario in the country.
"In the last few years, many incidents have happened due to which unemployment has increased (in the country). Such incidents include introduction of GST, demonetisation and coronavirus pandemic, and because of all this, people are very troubled," he said.
"Keeping all this in view, the 'Rozgar Budget' has been prepared by our government which promises to provide 20 lakh new jobs," Kejriwal said.
In the budget, the Delhi government has promised 20 lakh jobs in the next five years, he said in the House and added that many political parties do not dare to make such a promise even before an election.
"It's our commitment in the assembly. None had dared to give 20 lakh jobs even before elections. Our budget has a detailed plan of providing these jobs," Kejriwal said.
The chief minister said that he has lived in the slums to understand the pain and sufferings of people, and wants to better the lives of the poor and the common man.
Kejriwal said he is happy that God has given him the opportunity to do something for them.
"We are extremely happy to make the best quality hospitals and clinics for the poor and make healthcare free. I became CM but could not implement doorstep delivery of rations here. Pleaded in front of everyone I could to implement the 'Ghar-Ghar Ration Yojna' but these people did not let me do it. Although I could not do it in Delhi, it has been implemented in Punjab now," Kejriwal, whose party stormed to power in Punjab in the recently-held assembly polls there, said.
He hit out at the Centre, saying it did everything to stop the AAP government from working for the public.
"They first stopped our mohalla clinic file for two months but we got that cleared somehow. Later, they hindered our CCTV installation project. I along with Gopal Rai (and other ministers) had to sit on a dharna at the Lt Governor's office to get this done. They strived to stop every work," Kejriwal said.
He also said corruption should be treated as treason and alleged that the list of corruption by the Congress and the BJP is long.
"They (Congress) did the 2G scam, coal block scam, Bofors scam, among others, while the other (BJP) did the Vyapam scam, Rafale scam etc. Corruption should be declared treason," he said.
"They have raided my house and office but did not get anything. Every single drop of our blood is dedicated for the country. This nation is paramount to me, I will persist till my last breath to empower and uplift my country," Kejriwal said.
Later the Delhi government released a statement and according to it, Kejriwal said that he had already declared that the day someone from within his party is caught red handed, they will be given double the punishment than any regular corrupt politician.
He also said the country is paramount for the AAP.
Recently, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi where he told the PM that for the government in Punjab, being a border state, the security of the nation is of utmost priority to the AAP, Kejriwal said.
"He assured him that whenever a concern on the border arises, he being the chief of the Punjab government and his whole team along with Arvind Kejriwal, the chief of the AAP, will stand shoulder to shoulder with the Centre.
There is no room for politics in this party when it comes to the nation," the statement quoted Kejriwal as saying in the assembly.
Kejriwal said that the AAP believes in humanity and love for the country, which is why his government is spending 10 crores to build a state-of-the-art boarding school for homeless children.
He said that medical treatments have been made free in Delhi government hospitals and Delhiites would not have to sell everything to get treatment.
BJP MLAs Vijender Gupta and O P Sharma were marshalled out of the Delhi Assembly for the day by the speaker for allegedly obstructing the AAP members from raising law-and-order and other issues in the House.
The two opposition MLAs objected when the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators attacked the Centre over the law-and-order situation in the national capital.
Pravin Kumar, the AAP MLA from Jungpura, raised the issue of the stabbing of a teenager in his constituency and demanded that the Delhi Police Commissioner be summoned to the House and answer about the law-and-order situation.
Speaker Ram Niwas Goel said that on the pretext of an order from the Delhi L-G, various departments refused to furnish answers to questions raised by the members of the House.
"The order by L-G has emboldened the departments and answers are not furnished. Five to six questions for today were not replied to on the pretext of the L-G letter. The order has destroyed Delhi," Goel said.
He directed that BJP MLAs Vijender Gupta and Om Prakash Sharma be marshalled out when they objected and argued with him.
Goel also alleged that the Delhi Assembly was being incapacitated at the behest of the Centre's order through the L-G.
Gupta, BJP MLA from Rohini, said he was marshalled out along with Sharma as they were raising the issue of installing CCTV cameras in the constituencies represented by eight party legislators when they were expelled.
The BJP MLAs would meet Lt Governor regarding "systematic discrimination" being practised by the AAP government, he said.
A dharna will also be staged if the AAP government refused to mend its ways and continued to trample upon the rights of the people of Delhi, Gupta added.