KULLU: AAP has come to Himachal to seek one chance for better education, employment, health and honest government, party supremo Arvind Kejriwal claimed during the 'Tiranga Yatra' in Kullu on Saturday. People can kick the party out of the state if it does not meet the expectations, he added.
The Delhi chief minister and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann reached Dhalpur in Kullu at about 2:20pm and kick-started the 'Tiranga Yatra' from college gate to main Dhalpur chowk. More than 8,000 people took part in the event that was a show of strength for the party. As AAP had not given space to any of the leaders from Himachal in its Mandi roadshow which had irked the party workers, this time AAP state president Surjeet Singh Thakur was given space on the makeshift stage on the truck.
"Have you ever heard that a CM put his own cabinet minister in jail? Somebody gave recorded footage of the Punjab health minister to Bhagwant Mann a few days back when the minister was caught doing illegal things. Even the media and opposition had no idea about it. Mann could have hidden the matter or could have asked minister for his share in lieu of burying the matter. But Mann called the police and got the minister arrested. AAP has no tolerance for corruption," Kejriwal said.
He said somebody had said he paid Rs 1,500 electricity bill here, but Delhi has free electricity. "Where is the money going? I ask the people of Kullu that has the Himachal government built a new school, road, or hospital here in the last 20 years? Then where is the government money going? It's going to the pockets of BJP and the Congress one by one."
Talking about Delhi model of government schools, he invited people from Himachal to visit Delhi to see the schools. He said all the parents, even from a poor backgrounds, want to send their children to good schools to give better education. He said in Delhi, people are shifting their children from private schools to government schools. "We have given jobs to 12 lakh youth in the five years. People can check facts on the government website. I've prepared a roadmap for the next five years as 20 lakh more jobs would be given. We are proud of our tricolour. But, tricolour will be honoured when each child in the country will get a good education, the nation will get rid of poverty and when farmers and workers will get complete benefits," he added.
Took strict decisions in 100 days: Mann
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann said all other parties could not do what AAP had done in just 100 days with its strict decisions like no tolerance for corruption.
He said the anti-corruption movement has been brought online and now people had been asked to pay the bribe if any official demands it but also record the act. "We shall do the rest job. This way we have won the public trust. In Punjab, I got to know where the treasure was lying and worked on transferring it to the public pockets."
"It is for the first time in the history of Punjab that any political party won 92 seats. The political parties in Punjab were playing politics on the turn for five years each. Train compartments cannot be blamed if the engine is useless. Delhi changed its engine to the latest model as Kejriwal and now Delhi is on the path of development, now Punjab has also changed its engine and the state will pick up the pace. Now it's Himachal's turn where broom will clear the mud so that there is no option to grow the lotus," he said.
He said he and Kejriwal have not come for a show of strength or to talk about votes.
"We have come to talk about the topics which have a connection with your kitchen, good education to your children, good health facilities to all. India got freedom 75 years back but we are still struggling with the small issues. The world has reached the moon; the USA is talking about cutting the plots on the Mars and we are still stuck in sewerage," Mann added.
