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Ananya Panda
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, March 20
Joining the “chowkidar debate”, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal today took potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP’s “Main Bhi Chowkidar” campaign saying that people must vote for the PM if they want their children to become “chowkidar”.
The Chief Minister warned people of the national capital against getting “trapped” in the scheme of electing the next PM adding that they did it in 2014 Lok Sabha polls handing over all the seven parliamentary segments to the BJP, but this time they should judiciously exercise their franchise as they did in 2015 Delhi Assembly elections when they chose a new party here.
Taking on his party's two major political challengers — the BJP and the Congress — on proposed Delhi statehood, Kejriwal assured people that the AAP will fight and get statehood status within two years.
“But did the PM get you jobs, help in providing admission to your children or fulfill the BJP’s promise of full statehood? Before that the Congress too failed people on statehood issue,” said Kejriwal sharpening his attack a day after his party clarified once and for all that the AAP is not joining hands with the Congress in Delhi.
Kejriwal asked people to apply their mind properly before casting their vote during the May 12 elections for the seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Delhi.
“These elections are very crucial. So, apply your mind properly as you did when (in 2015 Delhi Assembly elections) when you decided to oust the BJP and the Congress and voted for a new party (AAP),” said the AAP chief.
He said before elections (2015) the AAP had promised it would cut power tariffs by half and the political adversaries – the BJP and the Congress — called it an electoral gimmick, but the party did it within a month of formation of the government in Delhi.
CM mocks PM over degree
Touching upon the old row pertaining to the PM’s educational qualifications Arvind Kejriwal, an IIT-Kharagpur graduate, mocked Modi over the latter’s educational qualifications when he said “my degree is not fake” while addressing a rally for his party’s North East Lok Sabha candidate Dilip Pandey here.
“I am an educated man. Have come with full planning and I do what I say (deliver promises). My degree is not fake and is original,” said the Chief Minister addressing people.
Earlier Kejriwal on Twitter said, “Modi jee wants to make the entire country chowkidar. If you too want your children to be chowkidar, vote for Modi jee. But if you want to provide good education to your children for them to become doctors, engineers, lawyers vote for honest and educated people’s party— the AAP.”
Last Saturday, the PM launched the “Main Bhi Chowkidar” campaign drawing from Congress president Rahul Gandhi often-directed chowkidar barb over allegations of corruption in Rafale jet deal. The move with the PM’s request to people of the country to take the pledge of “chowkidar” of national interests as he was gained traction both in the political circles and the Twiterrati. The social media platform went abuzz soon after Modi prefixed his Twitter handle with chowkidar.
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