In a public display of bonding with his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said those who suspected his ‘gotra’ during Delhi Assembly elections were now questioning the DNA of Nitish. “In Delhi, the people replied and they (BJP) were reduced to three in the Assembly of 70 and now the people of Bihar will reply them similarly,” he said while addressing a Government function in Patna on Thursday.
Kejriwal had been invited as main speaker at a programme to commemorate fourth year of the implementation of Bihar Right to Public Service Act, 2011.
Without naming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, “The DNA of Bihar, which produced a number of luminaries and icons, is being challenged. He committed a similar mistake in Delhi and called my ‘gotra’ (lineage) as ‘upadravi’ (anarchist). But people gave him a befitting reply and they will do the same here.”
While Kejriwal did sort of campaign for Nitish, the Bihar CM on his part assured him that Bihar will fully back him in his effort to get full Statehood for Delhi. “If the Biharis living in Delhi decide not to work for one day the life in Delhi will come to a standstill,” Nitish said.
Kejriwal also took potshots at the PM for his style of announcing special package for Bihar and said he watched it on TV. “It appeared he was trying to buy the people of Bihar in his auctioning style. I know the people of Bihar will not sit idle and tell him they are not saleable commodity,” he said.
Praising Nitish for his ‘Sushasan’ (good governance), Kejriwal lashed out at the Centre for creating conflicting situation and said the Union Government has made it a point to create hurdles in all his initiatives and declaring most of his decisions null and void so much so that the NDA Government has “assumed the rank of a null and void Government.”
Also, he challenged the Centre to compare it with his Government and tell the people how many promises it fulfilled. He said, “I promised to slash down the power bills and did it in one month. I promised to supply water free and did it. I promised 500 new schools and work on 236 has started. But what they did for bringing back black money; not even any effort has been made. They should instead have asked votes in the name of yoga and in the name of Swachchh Bharat. I challenge that not even a single lane has been cleaned even though they spent over Rs100 crore only on its publicity.”
Sharing his experience and constraints as CM, Kejriwal said he has seven times increased the rate of farmers’ land from Rs52 lakh per acre to Rs3.50 crore per acre but the Centre declared my decision as null and void. When he constituted women security commission of enquiry, the Centre said Delhi Government could not do this.
Thanking Nitish for helping him by providing competent and honest officials when he requested for utilising them in anti-corruption bureau. But added while the bureau was doing good job, the Centre intervened and on June 8 deputed an officer as its head. “Now anti-corruption branch is controlled by Delhi Police. We cannot fight with the Centre but this is not the way Centre treats us,” he said.
Kejriwal announced to implement a similar provision in Delhi like right to Public Service Act.
later, the two CMs flew to Bodh Gaya and prayed at the Mahabodhi temple. Kejriwal returned to Delhi in the evening.