Ahead of the upcoming Assembly election in Haryana, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday sounded the poll bugle by announcing ‘five guarantees’, including giving ₹1,000 to every woman, even as the party is yet to fulfil a similar promise in the neighbouring State of Punjab, where it has been in power for over two-and-a-half years.
At a town hall event in Haryana’s Panchkula, Sunita Kejriwal, wife of AAP supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, extended the five guarantees of Arvind Kejriwal to the people of Haryana. The guarantees comprise free electricity for domestic units, free medical treatment, free education to people, ₹1,000 per month to every woman in the State, and employment for every unemployed youth.
Assembly polls in Haryana are due later this year.
Addressing the gathering, she said: “We will work on building mohalla clinics in every village and every city. Government hospitals will be made better and everyone will get free treatment. Also, government schools will be made better and free education will be provided. We will also give ₹1,000 every month to women. Besides, we will provide employment to every unemployed youth.”
Hitting out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), she said Mr. Kejriwal has done phenomenal development work and that’s why Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “jealous” of him. “A fake case was filed against him (Mr. Kejriwal) and he was put in jail. They say that Kejriwal is a thief. I say that if Mr. Kejriwal is a thief, then no one is honest in this world,” she added. Mr. Kejriwal is currently in judicial custody in an excise policy-related case.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Rajya Sabha MP and party national spokesperson Sanjay Singh, national general secretary (Organisation) Sandeep Pathak were present among others at the event.
Mr. Mann said as soon as the government was formed in Punjab, the decision to provide 600 units/two months (300 units per month) of free electricity to every household was implemented.
Mr. Singh said the BJP has only misled the public by making false promises over the years. “On one hand, there is the guarantee of BJP’s lies, and on the other hand, there is the guarantee of Arvind Kejriwal, who has the guarantee of truth and the guarantee of proving everything,” he said.
Reacting sharply to the AAP’s poll guarantees, Leader of the Opposition in Punjab Assembly, Congress’ Partap Singh Bajwa said these promises and guarantees are nothing more than hogwash. “They have failed to fulfil their guarantees in Punjab — be it providing ₹1,000 to women or employment to youth among other promises. In fact, the law and order situation in Punjab under AAP’s rule has deteriorated to such an extent that life and property of individuals are most unsafe here among any other States,” he told The Hindu.
