Alleging that 21,000 people in Delhi have died due to contaminated drinking water, the Delhi BJP on Friday hit out at Arvind Kejriwal's "freebie" campaign, hinting at misgovernance and discrimination among citizens while implementing welfare schemes.
Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva said the former Kejriwal government and the AAP regime running the state now have failed to provide clean drinking water to Delhiites and according to the government's own data, 21,000 people have died in the past few years due to consumption of contaminated water.
The Rs 73,000 crore scam in the Delhi Jal Board is an eye-catching example of Kejriwal's misgovernance. Once the BJP comes to power, we will restructure the DJB and provide tap water to every home," said Sachdeva.
Free water and power were among the main attraction of Kejriwal's election pitch in the Assembly election addressed in a party meeting early in the day.
Sachdeva questioned why Kejriwal, who claims to provide free electricity, does not extend the subsidy to everyone. "Benefits of welfare schemes are the right of every Delhiite, and the BJP will ensure these rights are upheld once it comes to power," said Sachdeva.
"If BJP comes to power, we will implement all central government schemes in Delhi and expand the scope of welfare programmes in the state," he said.
The Delhi BJP chief also asked why electricity rates in Delhi were so high, with industrialists having to pay Rs 18 per unit while the AAP government was exploiting other residents under the guise of surcharge.
Sachdeva said that in BJP-ruled states, the schemes of the centre have been effective here and contributed uniquely to societal progress, though Delhi remains an exception, as here a corrupt government has prevented many centre schemes from implementation due to political rivalry.
Whether it is the Ayushman Bharat Scheme, Vishwakarma Scheme, Ujjwala Yojana, or the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yozna, people all over the country have benefited from these schemes. However, Delhi has been unlucky in this case as these schemes were not implemented here owing to the corrupt government, says Sachdeva. He further added, "Welfare schemes should be accessible to all.
Other than free electricity and water, good schools, good hospitals, and mohalla clinics, free bus travel for women, and pilgrimage for the elderly in Delhi, Kejriwal had earlier highlighted that the six "revadis" of the AAP government were.
The Delhi BJP President attacked the Kejriwal-Atishi governments for mismanaging school infrastructure. He alleged that engaging in corruption in the construction of classes has compromised the fate of 1.5 lakh students who failed in Class 9 and Class 11.
"All government schools in Delhi do not offer science and commerce streams after Class 10," he said.
On healthcare, he questioned the so-called free services offered by Kejriwal's party. "Patients are forced to wait for years to get appointments for tests in government hospitals and expired and fake medicines are being given to patients," he said.
During the programme, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor questioned the absence of Chief Minister Atishi from Kejriwal's "Revdi pe Charcha" programme earlier in the day.
The ruling party in a state, whenever it launches the election campaign, is seen with the Chief Minister generally present on the stage. But now, when CM Atishi was not on the launch stage of AAP's campaign, people have wondered if all is politically well between Kejriwal and Atishi, according to Kapoor.
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