AAP will contest Gujarat polls, says Kejriwal

October 17, 2016 02:05 am | Updated November 17, 2021 06:00 am IST - AHMEDABAD:

Surat: AAP chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addressing at a public meeting in Surat on Sunday. PTI Photo (PTI10_16_2016_000270B)

Surat: AAP chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addressing at a public meeting in Surat on Sunday. PTI Photo (PTI10_16_2016_000270B)

The Aam Admi Party (AAP) is set to contest next year’s Assembly polls in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state Gujarat, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal announced, while addressing a huge rally in Surat on Sunday.

“The Aam Admi will take on the Congress and the ruling BJP in Gujarat in the Assembly polls,” Mr. Kejriwal said, while accusing the BJP government of crushing democracy in Gujarat.

“The Patidars who were demanding reservation here were shot at and killed? Why were they killed and at whose behest were they shot at? They were our citizens, not terrorists. The stories that I have heard from the families of those who were killed made me cry,” Mr. Kejriwal said.

“The politicians who ordered the firing on Patidar youth have to be punished and the people of Gujarat will punish them,” he said, stressing that the AAP supported the Patidar community’s main demand for reservation and quota.

In his 30-minute speech, Mr. Kejriwal’s main target was BJP president Amit Shah, who had faced protests by Patidars two months back during a social event in the city. “The next Assembly polls in Gujarat will see a ‘revolution’. Amit Shah is on one side and the aam aadmi, who is poor, struggles for survival on the other side. But when the aam aadmi stands up, the likes of Shah will lose power.”

“The entire Gujarat knows who is running the State. Every instruction comes from Delhi. Earlier, Anandiben refused to follow Amit Shah’s instructions and she was shown the door. Vijay Rupani has been installed as CM and he obeys every instruction and command of Shah,” Mr. Kejriwal said.

Lauding the 23-year-old Hardik for spearheading the Patidar agitation, Mr. Kejriwal called him a “patriot.”

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.