RAIPUR: Sounding the bugle for the assembly elections, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday claimed that the contest in Chhattisgarh will be between the ruling Congress and his party and promised that the people will have the rights on the mines, forests and other natural resources if his party is voted to power.
"BJP is almost wiped out in this state. People have given opportunity to both the BJP and the Congress. It’s an opportunity to test the third alternative, which has changed the development scape in Delhi and Punjab", he said while addressing impressive party workers meeting in the state capital.
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak and AAP Chhattisgarh election in-charge Gopal Rai, party state in-charge Delhi MLA Sanjeev Jha and state convenror Komal Hupendi were present at the occasion.
Describing the assembly election, slated for November this year, as important for his party, Kejriwal said that both Congress and BJP have "looted" Chhattisgarh.
Stating that there is no difference between Congress and BJP, the AAP leader said only the face of the chief minister and the leaders is changed, but people's lives and the system are not changing.
Raising the issue of Hasdeo Arand, Kejriwal said that both BJP and Congress are friends of Adani. All know that Adani is the "sworn brother" of Modiji, but surprisingly Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel too followed the footsteps.
Prior to the assembly elections in 2018, Rahul Gandhi had promised to take back mining rights from Adani, but when the Congress came to power phase two of the Hasdeo was allotted to the industrialist.
Kejriwal said that 87% households of Delhi are enjoying zero electricity bills. "If we can provide free electricity to Delhi by purchasing it from Chhattisgarh, then why not this state, which is power surplus, cannot give it free? Only an honest government can do this. We are paying back to our tax payers, but our oppositions term it as ‘Rebdi’," said Kejriwal while attacking BJP and Congress.
Hitting out at the BJP, the AAP leaer said former chief minister Raman Singh has been sidelined by his party and therefore he is not visible these days. He also flayed Congress government of Chhattisgarh on education front and said that only 170 Atmanand Schools have been opened in the last four years and if this speed remains then it will take 150 years to transform 45000 government schools of the state.
"Our education minister Manish Sisodia brought the transformation in all government schools of Delhi within five hours and this was his fault for which he is now serving the jail,” said Kejriwal. He used the platform to appeal to the voters of Chhattisgarh to look at the face of their children at the time of voting. If they want a better future of their children then AAP is the best alternate.
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann said that since the situation in Chhattisgarh is very much similar to Punjab. Since 1990, two families have been ruling in the same way in Punjab. Both of them looted Punjab, created mafia. People had no choice. “In the year 2014, we resolved to change the picture of Punjab. We had four MPs in that election. Then we came in the role of opposition, and now the government is of the Aam Aadmi Party,” said Mann.
