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Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kerjirwal on Tuesday said that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has given the country a model of governance and hit out at the BJP saying it was doing "slum tourism" in the national capital ahead of assembly polls early next year.
Addressing a gathering on AAP's foundation today, Kejriwal said AAP was born on the day the country is celebrating Constitution Day. He said AAP has completed 12 years and the day marks its 13th birthday. "It's no coincidence that on Constitution Day, a new party was born. God must have thought that the Constitution was in danger and decided that this party would save it. The name Aam Aadmi Party reflects its purpose--serving the common people. God gave the broom as the election symbol so that the entire country could be cleaned. Picking up the broom stirs up dust and dirt, there will be struggles but in my opinion, our biggest achievement is that we have given the country a model of governance," Kejriwal said. He said AAP has shown that a government run "honestly" can also be comfortable in terms of internal resources. AAP was founded by Arvind Kejriwal and his colleagues on November 26, 2012, following the 2011 anti-corruption movement against the then Congress-led government at the Centre. The AAP supremo asserted that they provided free electricity, free water, quality education and healthcare to people of Delhi while ensuring infrastructure was not neglected. "We increased the metro network from 200 km to 450 km, built 10,000 km of roads, and constructed 38 new flyovers. Despite delivering all of this, we kept the budget in surplus. Those who used to criticize us are now emulating us. Even the Prime Minister had to visit a fake school in Gujarat for optics," he alleged. He said people living in slums should not trust BJP leaders visiting them and alleged that bulldozers will be brought later to demolish their homes. "Just like people go on vacations to places like Goa, BJP leaders go on "slum tourism. Today evening, some BJP leaders will go and stay in slum areas. This is a mockery of poverty. If they really want to live there, they should stay for three to four months. I spent 10 years of my life in slums. Slum dwellers should beware of these people--they will come back with bulldozers to demolish your homes a year from now," he said. Kejriwal also urged party MLAs and leaders to invite sanitation workers to their homes for tea. "I am inviting the sanitation workers from the New Delhi area to my house tomorrow for tea. From the day after tomorrow, all MLAs and councillors should invite them to their homes. Visiting their homes is easy, but it is important to invite them to our homes," he said. (ANI)
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