New Delhi, May 5 Alleging that the BJP has hijacked and destroyed democracy, AAP’s national convenor Arvind Kejriwal told Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs from Punjab, in the presence of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, that the state “is witnessing pro-incumbency even after four years in government”.
He said the government is drawing widespread public support. He also launched a sharp attack on the BJP over vote deletion and addition, “stolen” Rajya Sabha seats, and denial of the state’s rightful dues.
Addressing the MLAs, who reached Kapurthala House, the official residence of the Punjab CM in New Delhi, after submitting a memorandum to the President, Kejriwal said, “It has been four years since our government was formed, and 10 months are left for the elections. In the final year before elections, it is very rare for people to praise a government. Usually, after four years, people say there is strong anti-incumbency. But in Punjab, you can go to any village or any locality, and today there is no anti-incumbency; instead, there is pro-incumbency. People openly and wholeheartedly praise the Punjab government and say it is doing very good work.”
Raising concerns over democracy, the AAP chief said, “Across the country, a major crisis has emerged. The BJP has hijacked democracy and destroyed it. Even if a party wins an election, it does not matter to them.
“They use agencies like the ED (Enforcement Directorate) and the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation), money power, horse-trading of MLAs, break parties, topple governments, send leaders to jail, get votes deleted and added. What happened in West Bengal recently was not an election; we have been witnessing what has been happening there for months. The same has been done in Bihar, Maharashtra, and even in my own New Delhi constituency.”
“In the New Delhi assembly constituency, before I went to jail, there were 148,000 votes, and when I returned, only 106,000 votes remained. Around 42,000 votes were deleted in six months. I had won the previous election by 30,000 votes, but after 42,000 votes were deleted, I lost by 3,000 votes. How can anyone win when all the votes are deleted? This is happening across the country and democracy is under threat, the democracy for which our martyrs like Bhagat Singh, Subhas Chandra Bose and other freedom fighters sacrificed their lives,” Kejriwal said.
Recalling past elections, the former Delhi CM added, “Remember 2014 when there was a wave in favour of Narendra Modi. After forming the government in May 2014, they kept winning elections in Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand. Wherever elections were held, they kept winning continuously. Then came February 2015, and in the Delhi elections, the BJP won only three out of 70 seats.” “There is a story in the Ramayana about the Ashwamedha horse released by Lord Ram, which would claim any land it passed through. It is said that Luv and Kush stopped that horse in Amritsar. Similarly, the people of Delhi stopped that Ashwamedha horse. The BJP’s winning streak was like that horse moving forward, and it was the people of Delhi and the Aam Aadmi Party who stopped it,” he added.
However, he said, once again a wave is building. “They are winning everywhere, in Assam, Bengal, Bihar, Maharashtra and Delhi. But in the upcoming Punjab elections next February, this Ashwamedha horse will be stopped, and after the Punjab elections, the Modi government will fall. The end of the Modi government will come through Punjab.”
He told the legislators that they would win Punjab, the people of Punjab would win, but hard work would be required. “You will have to go door to door and explain that the BJP hates Punjab and Punjabis. Despite having full power at the Centre, they have done nothing for Punjab. They could have given double funds through the RDF (Rural Development Fund) and supported Punjab in many ways, but instead they are snatching even what rightfully belongs to Punjabis.”
Warning about consequences, he said, “They are saying that if they form the government, they will give Punjab’s water to Haryana, hand over Bhakra Dam to Haryana, give Chandigarh to Haryana, transfer Panjab University to Haryana, and implement the three ‘black’ farm laws in Punjab. We must tell people that if the BJP forms a government in Punjab, they will destroy the state.”
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