Declaring that photographs of the politicians will not don the walls of the Punjab government offices if his party comes to power in Punjab, Aam Aadmi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday announced that in its place, photographs of Dr BR Ambedkar and martyr Bhagat Singh will be put up in all government offices across the State after February 20 Assembly polls. “I had announced a few days ago that in every Delhi government office, there will be photographs of Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh. Today, we announce that after the formation of the (AAP) government in Punjab, there will be no photo of the Chief Minister or any other political leader in any government office,” said Delhi Chief Minister.
He added, “Photos of Babasaheb Ambedkar and Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh will be put up in all government offices, so that by looking at these photos, we and the next generation can draw inspiration from them.” Kejriwal, recounting the struggles of Dr Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh, said that both wanted good education and health for everyone and that the country should progress after independence.
Hitting out at Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia for indulging in a verbal spat while ignoring issues plaguing the people in Amritsar East Assembly segment, Kejriwal dubbed them as “political elephants”.
“Both Majithia and Sidhu are abusing each other and the public issues are getting buried because of it. Nobody is talking about the public issues. Both of them are kind of very big political elephants under whose feet the public gets crushed,” he said, adding that the voters of Amritsar East have nothing to do with the verbal duel between Sidhu and Majithia, they are concerned about basic issues concerning electricity, drinking water, roads, and schools.
He alleged that Sidhu is not fighting against corruption rather his fight is only for becoming the next Chief Minister of the State. “Sidhu does not answer phone calls nor does he meet people personally.
The Congress leader has done nothing for his constituency,” he said. On the other hand, Majithia is contesting the polls from Amritsar East only to defeat Sidhu, Kejriwal claimed, while asking, “What do people have to do with all this?”
Kejriwal said that AAP candidate from Amritsar East Jeevanjot Kaur is carrying out door-to-door campaigning and she will always be available to listen to the people’s problems. The voters of Amritsar East should ensure that Kaur wins the electoral contest, defeating Sidhu and Majithia, he added.
Replying to a question, Kejriwal said that when he describes his party colleague Bhagwant Mann as “kattar imaandar” (fiercely honest), his political rivals feel that they are “kattar bhrashtachari” (corrupt) and it makes the difference very clear.
Targeting AAP’s political rivals, he said that they only think about “looting” people, whereas Mann thinks about Punjab. AAP’s Chief Ministerial candidate for Punjab, Bhagwant Mann said that today's announcement is historic. “This will inspire the youth and government employees to do good for the country and the State,” he said. “Corrupt and selfish leaders have wasted the visions and sacrifices of the country's martyrs and freedom fighters. The way the ruling leaders are plundering the country today, the British will also be ashamed to see this plunder and corruption,” said Mann.
