Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday took a dig at the Opposition, saying the Delhi Assembly election results, scheduled to be declared on February 11, were already apparent, ANI reported. “For the last four days, a wave in favour of the BJP is making many people sleepless,” he added.
The prime minister made the remarks at a rally in Dwarka in Southwest Delhi. In the 2015 polls, the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party had won 67 seats, the BJP just three seats, and the Congress none.
“The upcoming Delhi elections are the first elections of this decade,” Modi said. “This decade will belong to India. India’s development will depend on the decisions taken today.”
Modi said Delhi needs a government that will not resort to appeasement but support the Citizenship Amendment Act, the abolition of Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional status, and matters concerning national security, PTI reported. He also accused the Kejriwal government of practising the politics of blame games and hatred. “Delhi does not need a government which gives opportunity to [foreign] enemies to attack us,” the prime minister added.
The prime minister wondered whether the people of Delhi were angry with the Kejriwal government for its statements following the surgical strikes across the Line of Control in September 2016 and the air strikes in Pakistan’s Balakot in February 2019. “I have full faith in the people of Delhi that they will punish the same people who are seeking their votes on February 8,” Modi added.
The prime minister alleged that the “head of the Delhi government” – Arvind Kejriwal – used derogatory language while talking about the city police force. “It shows their [the government’s] mindset,” Modi added. “In contrast, our government has built National Police Memorial honouring their sacrifices. It shows our values.”
In September 2018, a Delhi court had discharged Kejriwal in a criminal defamation complaint filed against him for referring to the police as “thulla” – a Hindi slang for policemen.
Modi also targeted Kejriwal for not implementing the Ayushman Bharat scheme in Delhi. In June 2019, Kejriwal had told the Centre that Delhi’s health scheme is “10 times better” than Ayushman Bharat, which provides health insurance cover of upto Rs 5 lakh to 500 million poor families.
“If a Delhi resident falls in Gwalior during a visit, will the mohalla clinic go there?” Modi asked the audience, referring to government-built clinics in Delhi, Hindustan Times reported. “But if Ayushman Bharat was applicable, if a beneficiary went there and fell ill, he could be treated for free. If at least one person could be saved, it could be worth it.” The prime minister alleged that the Kejriwal-led government was “heartless” and did not care for the people.
Modi also accused Kejriwal of going slow on the regularisation of unauthorised colonies. He said that because the people of Delhi gave the BJP all seven seats in the Lok Sabha elections, 40 lakh people have got their colonies regularised. In December, Parliament approved a bill granting ownership rights to residents in 1,731 unauthorised colonies in Delhi.
The Union Cabinet had approved the proposal to regularise the colonies on October 23, three months after Kejriwal also announced his government’s move to give ownership rights to people living in these colonies. Following the passage of the bill, Kejriwal took credit for it.
Modi said on Monday that the Centre had built the eastern and western peripheral highways that divert 40,000 trucks and thus reduce air pollution in the national capital.
The prime minister also said the Centre plans to expand the Delhi metro network, make the city “beautiful and safe”, and construct a Yamuna riverfront, which will be the “green lung” of Delhi.
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