Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the BJP were engaged in a bitter war of words on Thursday over the ongoing debate on the issue of so-called freebies being promised by political parties to influence voters ahead of elections.
Kejriwal hit out at the Centre and said that taxpayers are betrayed when their tax money is used to waive off loans of “rich friends”.
Kejriwal claimed that the Centre waived ` 10 lakh crore of loans and `5 lakh crore of taxes of super rich people and their companies.
“There seems to be something wrong with the Centre’s finances the way it is “strongly opposing” free facilities for people,” Kejriwal added.
On the other hand, in a blistering attack on Kejriwal the BJP claimed that while the Central Government’s welfare policies empowered different deprived sections of society with targeted schemes, some parties like the AAP engage in ‘revadi’ culture by dishing out freebies to everyone for political gains.
“Revadi culture is about dishing out lollipops for political gains and it makes no transformation to people’s lives. It misuses taxpayers’ money with the rich benefiting at the cost of the poor,” said the BJP.
At an online briefing, citing the Agnipath Defence recruitment scheme, reduction in States’ share in Central taxes from 42 per cent to 29 per cent, Goods and Services Tax (GST) imposed on food items and 25 per cent cut in MNREGA fund, Kejriwal asked where all the money was going?