BJP dares 'bluffmaster' Kejriwal for debate on poll promises

On the eve of crucial polls in Punjab and Goa, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday dared "bluffmaster, liar and egoistic" Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for a debate on his 70 poll promises that the AAP government has failed to fulfil after nearly two years of governance in the national capital.

Delhi BJP President Manoj Tiwari told reporters here that the AAP government hasn't kept the promises of regularising unauthorised colonies, opening 500 schools, installing CCTV cameras, increasing the patient capacity in government hospitals and providing safe and clean drinking water in the city.

"I haven't seen a bluffmaster, liar and egoistic leader like Kejriwal," Tiwari said.

He said "till today not a single meeting has been held" over the issue of regularising hundreds of unauthorised colonies in Delhi where electricity connections and water supply and several other amenities have not been provided.

"And I am not saying this on my own, but all this has been revealed through a Right to Information reply from the Delhi government."

The BJP MP from northeast Delhi said that he had "found people crying for water supply" when he spent four nights in slum areas and visited villages on Delhi's periphery.

He said ironically it was the people from the slums who supported Kejriwal's party the most during the 2015 assembly elections and their voices were not being heard now.

Targeting the Delhi government over its poll promise of building 500 new schools, Tiwari said: "Till date only four schools have been made and out of four only two are functional."

He also took a dig at the Delhi government for not installing 15 lakh CCTV cameras in the city as Kejriwal had promised for the safety of women.

"I still remember Nirbhaya. I still remember the night of December 16 (2012)," Tiwari said, adding "only seven cameras have been installed till date" out of the 15 lakh CCTV cameras Kejriwal had promised.

He said the Delhi government has not met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh even once and has not put forth any proposal for women's safety in the city.

"I dare Kejriwal to have a debate with me over the issue of development in the city," Tiwari said.

Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Vijender Gupta alleged that cases of corruption were rampant in Delhi despite Kejriwal's promise that "they shall end corruption".

Gupta also slammed the AAP leader over his silence on the corruption charges against his cabinet minister Satyender Jain.

The BJP leader alleged that all AAP MLAs had indulged in corruption and asked: "Will Kejriwal act against his MLAs and relatives found involved in corruption cases?"

BJP MP from New Delhi Meenakshi Lekhi alleged that Kejriwal had been given a new name on social media and "is being called farjiwal (fake)".

She said Rs 900 crore were sanctioned by the central government for drainage system and pipelines in the city but not a single rupee has been used in the last two years.

--IANS

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