NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday hit out at the BJP-led Centre, accusing it of waging a war against state governments led by opposition parties.
Leaders and lawmakers from the Left Democratic Front of Kerala, led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, staged a protest against the Union government at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on Thursday. Kejriwal participated in the protest.
"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 a India-Pakistan situation with us. The Centre is using all the tactics to harass the opposition governments," alleged Kejriwal who took part in the protest.
He alleged that the Centre is not giving funds to the state governments, using Governors and Lt Governors to meddle in the functioning of the state governments and unleashing central agencies on the opposition leaders.
"It is depriving them of valid funds and obstructing work through Governors and LGs. It is also harassing them by using central agencies to arrest the opposition leaders. How will the governments work?"
He said the protesters were not "here to beg or ask for anything for our families".
"I have come here to ask for the right of two crore people. If you do not give us funds how will we build roads, provide electricity and work for development. How can you snatch the people's rights?" the Aam Aadmi Party national convener said.
Citing Punjab's instance, he said the state government had to move the Supreme Court for release of rural development fund.
"The SC has fixed the matter for hearing next week. Immediately we received a call from 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.
The governors are meddling with state subjects in the opposition-ruled states and agencies like ED are being used to frame the opposition leaders, he alleged.
"ED is a new weapon for them. Till now, there were laws and a case would be investigated. Then it would be tried legally and the accused would be sent to jail after due legal process. Now they decide whom to put behind bars and then it is decided which case that person should be framed in," he alleged.
They have arrested Hemant Soren, without anything being proved against him, he claimed.
"They can arrest even me, Pinarayi Vijayan or MK Stalin. They can arrest anyone and send him to jail to topple the government. They even tried to topple the Jharkhand government but they could not," he said.
He said he is labelled "corrupt" and underlined how he provides free electricity and free treatment in the government hospitals in Delhi.
"I provide free electricity to the people of Delhi while the electricity rates are quite high in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. You tell me - is the one who provides free electricity corrupt or the one who provides it at higher rates? I want to tell the BJP not to be arrogant. Times can change. A time can come when we will be there (in power) and you will be here (in opposition) and the same laws can come to haunt you," Kejriwal said.
His Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Singh Mann said at a time when they should have been at their respective secretariats preparing for budget, they are here to protest at Jantar Mantar.
"We should have been at our respective secretariats and attending to work as this is the time for budget preparation. But, here we are at Jantar Mantar asking for our rights. They have withheld Rs 5500 crore of our funds and we had to approach the SC.
"Where the BJP has no MLAs, the governors start ruling," he alleged at the protest.
Meanwhile, MPs belonging to the DMK and their allies staged a protest wearing black shirts near the Gandhi statue in the Parliament Complex on Thursday condemning the Centre for its alleged financial injustice to Tamil Nadu.
The parliamentarians, led by DMK senior leader T R Baalu, raised slogans denouncing the union government for not allocating the requisite funds to Tamil Nadu and for ignoring it in the union interim budget.