NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party on Friday launched its Lok Sabha poll campaign from the national capital. ‘Sansad mein bhi Kejriwal, tabhee Dilli hogee aur khushahaal’ (With Kejriwal in the Parliament too, Delhi will be more prosperous), the AAP slogan goes. Urging Delhi voters to elect INDIA bloc candidates from all the seven Lok Sabha seats to strengthen his hands, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the BJP MPs from the city never raised its concerns in the Parliament.
Addressing a meeting at the party headquarters, Kejriwal said although the AAP was only formed around 12 years ago, the people of Delhi expressed their trust and support by giving them a huge majority in two consecutive Assembly polls to form the government in the city. “I have never consider myself as the Chief Minister, but a son of every family in Delhi, by becoming a part of the two crore people in the city. I have tried to overcome their problems, be their support,” Kejriwal said.
Criticising the seven Lok Sabha MPs from Delhi for not raising the issues of city residents in the Parliament, the Chief Minister said, “I want to ask where the seven MPs, whom you had elected, were during this time? When your medicine supply, education, and yoga were being stopped? Where were these seven MPs? They were clapping and celebrating. When any of your family members fall sick, they celebrate. When your children’s education is stopped, these MPs celebrate. When your children and your family yearn for civic amenities, they celebrate. And we are serving such people,” the Chief Minister fired.
Condemning the controversial Government of New Delhi (Amendment) Act, Kejriwal said, “When the ordinance was passed in the Parliament and the rights of Delhi were taken away, where were these seven MPs? They go to the L-G to stop your work. Why do we still vote for such people?”
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann appealed to Delhi residents to extend their support to the AAP in the upcoming general elections.
“The people of Delhi gave 67 out of 70 seats to the AAP once and 62 out of 70 seats the second time. The reason why Arvind Kejriwal repeatedly wins in Delhi is that the AAP focuses on work,” he said.
Tauting the benefits under the AAP regime, Mann said, “We do not engage in politics of hatred and division. Mohalla Clinics started in Delhi; government schools were opened. Electricity became free. Pilgrimage for the elderly started.We have adopted Delhi’s initiatives and implemented them in Punjab, multiplying them two to three times. Today, there are 829 Mohalla Clinics in Punjab and so far, 1.25 crore people have received treatment and been cured,” he added.