New Delhi: “Elections are around the corner, and the BJP has nothing to offer except gali galoch (abuses). All they talk about is my house, my shoes, and my jacket, but not the real issues,” former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said Sunday at the Constitution Club of India during the launch of The Delhi Model, authored by Jasmine Shah.
He appeared to be referring to the BJP’s ‘Sheesh Mahal’ offensive, wherein the party attacked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor by releasing a video tour of his erstwhile ‘seven-star’ Civil Lines residence.
Also in attendance at the book launch were Chief Minister Atishi, former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, and former health minister Satyendar Jain.
Speaking about the ‘Delhi Model’ and its efforts to address the problems of common people, Kejriwal said his government had forced even Prime Minister Narendra Modi to click a photo at a “fake classroom in Gujarat”.
“We forced him (Modi) to do that. And that’s why the BJP’s politics of polarisation is not working in Delhi. They tried hard with their ‘Shaheen Bagh, Shaheen Bagh’ rhetoric but failed miserably,” the AAP convenor declared as the audience, packed to capacity, cheered loudly.
Highlighting his journey and the ‘Delhi Model’, Kejriwal described the BJP’s approach as a “trickle-down model” of growth.
“They (BJP) give money to top corporates, hoping the money will trickle down to the common people. And this feeds corruption. Our model, on the other hand, invests in human capital, making the common man educated and capable,” he said.
Recalling his time as a deputy commissioner in the Income Tax Department, Kejriwal shared that he would be troubled by widespread corruption. This frustration, he added, prompted him to create a website called ‘Parivartan’.
“That’s how I met Manish Sisodia, who signed up as a volunteer on the website. I still remember meeting him in his one-room apartment, where we talked for hours. When you join politics from such humble beginnings, you are bound to solve people’s issues,” said Kejriwal.
Talking about his party’s growth, Kejriwal said AAP must have done something right. “After all, we’ve been elected thrice and are on track for another victory. Based on our Delhi Model, we’ve also formed a government in Punjab, have MLAs in Gujarat and Goa, and one in Jammu and Kashmir.”
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)