In the run-up to next month’s civic polls, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday appealed to the people of Haryana to give him a chance to serve the people of the state.
“Give me a chance, I will improve all schools in Haryana. The condition of Delhi government schools is a proof. Children of the poor people can also become engineers and doctors,” he said in an election meeting in his native place, Kurukshetra.
“We didn’t allow private schools in Delhi to increase fees in the past seven years,” he said.
Talking about sacking of a minister in the AAP government in Punjab, the Delhi Chief Minister said, “The AAP minister was corrupt. No one knew, the media didn’t know. But we dismissed him and sent him to jail. No other party has done this.”
Addressing his first rally in Haryana after AAP’s stunning performance in the Assembly polls in neighbouring Punjab, Kejriwal challenged the ruling BJP in the state to contest the 2024 Assembly elections under the leadership of incumbent Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
“Some journalists were telling me that the BJP is going to remove Khattar sahab, and replace him with someone else as the Chief Minister. Have you heard about it? Is Khattar sahab corrupt? Does he not work? I would like to challenge the BJP, if it has courage, let it contest the 2024 elections under the leadership of Khattar sahab,” Kejriwal said.
Recalling his roots in Haryana, the AAP chief said, “I like it the most when people call me Haryana’s lal. Haryana is my birthplace. And the land of birth is like a mother. A person can’t repay the debt of a mother and the motherland even in seven lives.”
He also said that those who want their children to become goons must send them to the BJP.
“Those who want their children to become doctors, engineers, lawyers, come with us. Those who want them to become rioters, goons, rapists, go with them (BJP). All such elements are in that party,” Kejriwal said,
“They will never give jobs to your children because they need unemployed goons for their party. They will teach your children to riot and send their own children abroad,” he added.