The political discourse in Delhi is currently being dominated by conversations around “freebies” ahead of the Assembly polls overshadowing other major issues including pollution, law and order, crimes against women and infrastructure. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal announced his 10th freebies on Friday, pledging to provide Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) with funds to hire private security guards if the party is voted back into power, as he took digs at the BJP for turning the city into a “crime capital”. This was his 10th guarantee of the ongoing freebies being offered by his government.
Announcing funds for security guards in RWAs, Kejriwal said if the AAP forms the government, all RWAs will be provided with appropriate funds from the Delhi government to appoint security guards in their areas. “A systematic approach will be developed to ensure fairness and proper implementation,” he added.
Reacting to the new poll promise by AAP, the BJP slammed Kejriwal and accused him of making “false” promises on the RWAs again. Kejriwal’s BJP rival from the New Delhi constituency, Parvesh Verma, in a post on X, asked the AAP supremo if he remembered his previous promises to the RWAs in 2018 and 2022. Ahead of the MCD polls in 2022, Kejriwal promised to grant “financial and political powers” to the RWAs with their own “mini councillors.”.
Earlier, before the 2015 Assembly elections, he promised local area development funds after giving legal status to the RWAs by passing a bill in the assembly.
Kejriwal said the private security guard proposal would enhance public security which has been a priority for the ruling party that had earlier installed CCTV cameras and colony gates.
“The security guard proposal is based on feedback received from people. It is timely as people are feeling insecure due to a spurt in crime in the city,” he said, accusing the BJP’s Central government of not doing enough to check crime in the city.
“The BJP may not be worried about the residents of Delhi but for us citizens are like family, and we want to give them a sense of security,” he said. AAP chief said now the Delhi government will fund RWAs for hiring private security guards and the number of security guards in each colony will be based on the number of families in the RWA.
Meanwhile United Residents Joint Action (URJA) president Atul Goyal said, “We appreciate the announcement but some promises were made earlier as well, which makes it difficult to fully trust this one.”
Kejriwal said hiring private security guards by RWAs is just a measure to instill a feeling of safety among residents and in no manner an attempt to “replace police who are responsible for providing security”. The AAP National Convener hoped the posting of private security guards would help regulate the movement of unauthorised persons in colonies and prevent petty crimes.
Kejriwal used the occasion to criticise the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for its handling of Delhi’s law and order situation. “Delhi has been turned into a crime capital under the BJP and Home Minister Amit Shah. People are scared and feeling unsafe,” he said, adding, “Gang wars are now common in the city. BJP doesn’t care for Delhi residents, but AAP does.” Asserting that the two crore people in Delhi were like family to him, he said their safety was the top priority of the AAP.
The AAP leader also raised concerns about alleged voter irregularities in the New Delhi Assembly constituency. Speaking about his recent meeting with the Election Commission, Kejriwal claimed, “Between December 15 and January 7, 5,500 votes were flagged for deletion in New Delhi, which accounts for 5.5% of the total voter base. Additionally, 13,000 new voter applications have been filed in this period, suggesting potential fraud.”
BS Vohra, president of North Delhi RWA Federation, the AAP should empower RWAs but expressed reservations over the new promise. “Last time, it was promised that councillors would be appointed, but we are still waiting for them,” he said. It would be fine if funds were provided for private guards and hoped previous promises by the party would also be met, Vohra added.
Eyeing a third straight term, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), under former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, is leading the charge with its campaigns like “Revdi Par Charcha”, emphasising its free electricity, water, healthcare, education, and public transport initiatives for women. It has also announced new schemes, including the Mukhya Mantri Mahila Samman Yojana, promising Rs 2,100 monthly for women, and the Sanjeevani Yojana, ensuring free healthcare for senior citizens in both government and private hospitals.
