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The campaign for Delhi elections have picked up pace as Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday appealed to voters and supporters of Opposition parties to consider the work done by his government before casting the vote.
The Congress, however, countered his claims on “good governance” and said advertisements of the government paint a rosy picture of education, but a majority of students who are unable to clear the examinations are being left out of the schooling system.
Kejriwal, who submitted the nomination papers on Tuesday, said at a roadshow that the main achievements of his government are free electricity and water. “We have worked hard to improve our schools, the education system, health care...If you vote for other parties, education and health care services will deteriorate,” he said. “Who will take care of the education of your children, who will help you get good and affordable health care if you vote in favour any other party? Just give it a thought,” he said and added: “So, I appeal to you all especially those who support Congress and BJP... please be with your respective parties but vote for us this time.”
He said his government has tried its best to give maximum benefit to the people of Delhi. “We have made water and electricity free, improved the education and healthcare system.But the work pending for 70 years cannot be completed in just five years. We need more time,” he said and claimed that he has worked like the elder son in a family. “It is the elder son who shoulders most of the responsibilities, takes care of everyone, gets the sister married and manages all expenses. I have tried to do just that,” he said.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor asked the AAP to account for the spending on construction of classrooms and purchase of anti-pollution masks.
Opposition counter
“The Aam Aadmi Party started off claiming to combat corruption. Would they care to explain where this money went?” Tharoor asked on Twitter.
He said the State government undertook construction of 12,782 classrooms for ₹2,892 crore. “Our people have estimated that all of this could have been done comfortably for a maximum spending of ₹800 crore, whereas ₹2,892 crore have been spent. Do we have a ₹ 2,000-crore scam on our hands here?” he asked. “Did they charge the taxpayer all that they spent? Did they charge the taxpayer more than they should have spent?” he said in Twitter.
Star campaigners
The Congress, meanwhile, decided to use party president Sonia Gandhi; former president Rahul Gandhi; General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra; cricketer-turned politician Navjot Singh Sidhu; and former Minister Shatrughan Sinha as star campaigners. Former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat; former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda; Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot; party general secretary Jyotiraditya Scindia; Opposition leader in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad; and MP Kapil Sibal are also in the list of star campaigners.
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