NEW DELHI: Participating in a protest held by LDF at Jantar Mantar, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday alleged that the NDA-led Centre is waging a war against the opposition-ruled States.
“The governments led by opposition parties represent 70 crore people in the country. The BJP has waged a war against the opposition-ruled states. They have created an India-Pakistan situation with us. The Centre is using all the tactics to harass the opposition governments,” Kejriwal alleged.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and other leaders of the ruling Left Democratic Front in Kerala staged a protest against the Centre over pending dues and alleged bias towards non-BJP States. On Wednesday, a similar protest was held at the same venue by Karnataka Congress.
“This country had to see this day that at the Jantar Mantar, a place where the people of this country, fed up with the exploitation, come to protest, the chief minister of Kerala, has to sit in protest,” Kejriwal said.
Kejriwal said that the Constitution provides a clear demarcation of power between the Centre and the States, yet the central government interferes. “Education and health are state subjects. It is written in the Constitution,” he stated.
Citing Punjab’s instance, he said the state government had to move the Supreme Court for the release of rural development funds. “The SC has fixed the matter for hearing next week. Immediately we received a call from the Centre asking us to come and sit with them for a discussion.
The Delhiites pay Rs 2 lakh crore as income tax and out of that, they only get Rs 325 crore. Even the British did not loot the country like this during the 100 years they were here,” he claimed.
He alleged that the Centre is harassing the opposition in several ways. “Firstly, the central government is not providing the rightful funds to the states. Secondly, it hampers everyday functioning through the interference of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor. Thirdly, it unleashes the probe agencies after the opposition leaders to put them in jail,” the AAP’s national convener alleged. “ED is a new weapon for them. They (BJP) decide whom to put behind bars and charges to be framed,” he alleged.
LDF led by CM Pinarayi Vijayan at Jantar Mantar
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and other leaders of the ruling Left Democratic Front in Kerala staged a protest against the Centre over pending dues and alleged bias towards non-BJP States. On Wednesday, a similar protest was held at the same venue by Karnataka Congress. While speaking in Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that Opposition is trying to create a “north-south” devide.