Kejriwal attacks Delhi govt over failure to pay Rs 2,500 to women; slams Congress
New Delhi: In his maiden public appearance after AAP’s defeat in the Delhi Assembly elections, the party’s National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday attacked the BJP government for not paying Rs 2,500 to women by March 8 and criticised its alleged decision to remove photos of Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Dr B.R. Ambedkar from offices.
Addressing party workers on Martyrs’ Day observed to pay tributes to Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Shaheed Rajguru, and Shaheed Sukhdev, former Delhi CM Kejriwal said tall claims were made on Rs 2,500 scheme but they have failed to start it.
He also repeated his charge of the Congress being a “B-Team” of the BJP, alleging that when the BJP government removed photos of Bhagat Singh and Dr Ambedkar from its office, the Congress remained a silent spectator.
“The same Congress had attacked our government when we prominently put up photos of Bhagat Singh and Dr Ambedkar in our office,” said a combative AAP leader.
He also hit out at the BJP government for asking women commuters in Delhi’s public transport buses to use their smartphones to download e-pink tickets.
“How many women will be able to do this?” he said, alleging that lakhs of women were being denied paper tickets.
Accusing the BJP of keeping its promise of not stopping any ongoing welfare scheme in Delhi, Kejriwal said, “They are playing a fraud on people.”
He urged party workers to be prepared for sacrifices as the AAP was not formed to earn money and enjoy the benefits of power.
He attacked the Tihar Jail authorities, which last year did not allow him to send a letter to Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena to allow Atishi to hoist the national flag on the occasion of Independence Day while he himself was in jail.
“The British were better than the current authorities as they allowed Bhagat Singh to send his letters to family and friends from jail freely, but my one letter was stopped,” he said.
Former Delhi law minister Somnath Bharti welcomed Kejriwal’s attack on the Congress by calling it an ally of the BJP.
“He has clarified that both the BJP and Congress are together in indulging in corruption and hating Bhagat Singh and Dr Ambedkar,” he said.
AAP convenor of Gujarat unit and former Delhi minister Gopal Rai said on Martyrs’ Day, Kejriwal gave a message of strengthening party organisation across the country.
