Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, often criticised by Opposition for offering ‘freebies’, found a connection with the US Presidential candidate Donald Trump and used his promise to slash energy costs by half to make a point about the universal appeal of ‘revdi’. Responding to a post on X by former US President and the Republican party’s presidential candidate Donald Trump, where he promises to cut electricity and energy prices in half, Kejriwal posted, “Trump has announced that he will reduce electricity rates by half. Free ki revri reach US…”
Trump, while speaking at the Detroit Economic Club on Thursday, pledged to halve electricity costs within a year if elected. He tweeted, “I will cut the price of ENERGY and ELECTRICITY in HALF within 12 months. We will seriously expedite our environmental approvals and quickly double our electricity capacity. This will DRIVE DOWN INFLATION, and make AMERICA and MICHIGAN the best place on earth to build a factory.”
Accusing Kejriwal for misquoting Trump, Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva said his claim is entirely false. Sachdeva clarified that Trump has clearly stated in his election speech that if elected, he would increase electricity production and lower rates, which is a sound economic decision. However, it is unfortunate that Arvind Kejriwal referred to this as “freebies” and tried to link it to his own political electricity policy.
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha also joined in with a post on X on Friday where he praised Kejriwal for “setting the benchmark for governance globally”. “Trump’s 50% off on electricity bills shows how @ArvindKejriwal has set the benchmark for governance globally! His governance model—affordable electricity, free water, quality healthcare, and free world class education—is a shining example of welfarism done right. The world takes notice,” Chadha said in the post.
This comes on the heels of Kejriwal's own challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On October 6, during a public meeting, Kejriwal said he would campaign for the BJP in the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections if PM Modi implemented free electricity in all 22 states ruled by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Addressing a public meeting last week, Kejriwal said, "I am giving six free revri -- power, water, bus rides for women, pilgrimage for the elderly, health and education -- to my two crore people of Delhi so that I can make their lives happier." "The revri belongs to the public. I am distributing it among them," he added. However, the AAP chief and his party maintain that their policies, such as free electricity and water, are vital for uplifting the poor and ensuring equitable access to basic services.
