BENGALURU: After Delhi and Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has cast its eye on Karnataka, ahead of the 2023 assembly polls, with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealing to the people to vote for the party promising zero-corruption governance.
Speaking at the farmers’ rally organised by the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) faction headed by Kodihalli Chandrashekar at National College Grounds here on Thursday, Kejriwal trained his guns on the BJP, terming it a “rioters’ party”.
“The entire country knows which party is behind the riots happening across the country. If there is any party for ‘goondas’, it is BJP,” he stated. He alleged that the BJP leadership is supporting rapists and killers of farmers, pointing to the Lakhimpur Kheri incident where four farmers were mowed down by Union minister Ajay Mishra Teni’s son Ashish Mishra.
I can give better schools, free healthcare: Kejriwal
“Instead of punishing them, the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership is not only protected them but also rewarded the father with a ministerial berth. A leader accused in a minor girl’s rape incident was taken out in a ‘shobha yatra’,” he said. Kejriwal maintained that though he did not know how to do politics, he knew how to construct better schools, give free healthcare, power, water and free rides for women in government buses in Delhi. “It is possible because we are honest to the core (kattar imandari). Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to acknowledge it as raids by CBI, Delhi Police and IT department on myself, my cabinet ministers and MLAs proved futile,” he remarked.
Impressed by the huge gathering, he gave a call to farmers of the country to join AAP to bring about a change in their lives, and also the country. “The BJP was egoistic so it did not repeal the anti-farmer laws until the farmers came on to the streets of the national capital,” Kejriwal said, drawing a parallel to Ravana’s ego in the epic Ramayana, when he did not heed the advice of his well-wishers and wife.
He listed out his government’s achievements in Delhi, especially modern schools which attracted 4 lakh children from private schools, and termed it “magic”. After former IPS officer Bhaskar Rao joined AAP a few weeks ago, Kodihalli Chandrashekar jumped on board and KRRS too has turned to the party, giving it a breakthrough in Karnataka.