Wednesday, June 10, 2026
ADVT 
India

Arvind Kejriwal Flays 'Gujarat Model', Modi Government

The Canadian Press, 27 Apr, 2016 10:41 AM
    Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday accused the central government of trying to fail development work in Delhi and said people have been "cheated in the name of Gujarat model".
     
    Addressing the National Council of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Kejriwal made one of his most scathing attacks on the Narendra Modi government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
     
    "The world is appreciating the AAP government whereas the central government is trying its best to scuttle our efforts (to develop Delhi)," he said. 
     
    "But still, we are moving ahead and working for the people of Delhi."
     
    He detailed the achievements of the AAP government since taking power in February 2015 including providing "cheapest" and uninterrupted electricity.
     
    "Our opponents said we won't be able to supply uninterrupted power, that too on cheapest rates.
     
    "We are also providing 20,000 liters of water to each family for free. And in fact Delhi is saving huge amount of water."
     
    He said his government had waived off water bills totalling Rs.2,500 crore and would build 8,000 new classrooms within two months. 
     
    He said Delhi's 'Mohalla Clinics' of model clinics had brought free medicines and tests to people's doorsteps. Every clinic was built in just Rs.20 lakh. 
     
    "Even the US says they need to learn from Mohalla Clinics. By now, we have 100. The number will be 1,000 by year-end."
     
    Claiming no government had done in 10-15 years what his government had achieved in just over a year, he said: "This is happening because there is an honest government in Delhi. We are saving money in each project."
     
     
    In contrast, he accused the central government of building a flyover in Bihar for Rs.3,000 crore when its cost estimate was Rs.509 crore. This, he said, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
     
    Kejriwal said he visited Gujarat and found schools and healthcare there in a bad shape. 
     
    "Now everyone knows what the Gujarat model is. People have been cheated in the name of Gujarat model.
     
    "There is a Delhi model of governance and the Gujarat model. We invite everyone to compare the two models."
     
    The AAP leader accused the BJP and its allied groups of doing "gundagardi" in the name of making people say "Bharat Mata ki Jai" and threatening to beat up those who did not raise the slogan. 
     
    He said the tens of thousands who thronged the Ramlila Maidan here during Gandhian Anna Hazare's protest in 2011 chanted "Bharat Mata ki Jai" from their heart.
     
    "See what they are doing in Kashmir," he said, in an obvious reference to the clashes between Kashmiri and non-Kashmiri students at the National Institute of Technology in Srinagar. 
     
    He said the people of Delhi "are so happy that if elections happen today, 
    they won't win even a single seat".
     
    But he quickly added that the AAP's aim was not just to win elections.
     
    "We are here to change the system. We will fight to win. 
     
    "We will fight elections but before that we have to work hard. We have to fight to win 90 seats out of 100.
     
    "We will fight elections to make governments and change the system," he said, without outlining the AAP's long-term electoral plans beyond Punjab.

    MORE India ARTICLES

    Robert Vadra Hopes Enquiry Is Not For Political Vendetta

    Robert Vadra Hopes Enquiry Is Not For Political Vendetta
    Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, said on Friday that he hoped the enquiry ordered against him over his land deals in Haryana will not be used for political vendetta.

    Robert Vadra Hopes Enquiry Is Not For Political Vendetta

    In A Landmark Judgment, Indian Supreme Court Prohibits Politicians' Photos On Government Ads

    A bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose however permitted the use of photographs of the president, prime minister, Chief Justice of India and departed leaders, including Father of the Nation, in such advertisements.

    In A Landmark Judgment, Indian Supreme Court Prohibits Politicians' Photos On Government Ads

    With NRI Help, Punjab Targets 1000 MW Solar Energy by 2017

    With NRI Help, Punjab Targets 1000 MW Solar Energy by 2017
    The minister inaugurated a 1 MW solar energy project set up by Britain-based NRIs Avtar Singh Kang and Raovarinder Singh Kang in their ancestral village Lallian Kalan in Jalandhar district with an investment of Rs.7.25 crore.

    With NRI Help, Punjab Targets 1000 MW Solar Energy by 2017

    Land Bill Sent To Select Panel; Rahul Says Government Murdered UPA Act

    Land Bill Sent To Select Panel; Rahul Says Government Murdered UPA Act
    The Lok Sabha on Tuesday referred the land acquisition bill to a joint committee of the two houses after an spirited debate in which Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi accused the NDA government of "murdering" the legislation passed by the previous UPA regime.

    Land Bill Sent To Select Panel; Rahul Says Government Murdered UPA Act

    Modi Seeks To Improve Relations With Pakistan Via Cricket

    Modi Seeks To Improve Relations With Pakistan Via Cricket
    Despite apprehensions raised by some BJP MPs about a proposed India-Pakistan cricket series, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is determined to break the ice with the neighbouring country through "cricket diplomacy", informed sources here said.

    Modi Seeks To Improve Relations With Pakistan Via Cricket

    Dawood In Pakistan, We'll Get Him, Says Rajnath Singh

    Dawood In Pakistan, We'll Get Him, Says Rajnath Singh
    India has credible information that underworld don Dawood Ibrahim is in Pakistan and we will not rest till he is brought back, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday. But Pakistan denied the fugitive is present there.

    Dawood In Pakistan, We'll Get Him, Says Rajnath Singh