Projects inaugurated by PM Modi result of govts collaboration: Kejriwal

AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday described the two projects inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as milestones for Delhi's infrastructure and claimed they were joint ventures between the central and the city governments.

Modi on Sunday inaugurated a 13-kilometre stretch of the Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor from Sahibabad in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad to New Ashok Nagar here and the Janakpuri West-Krishna Park Extension section of the Delhi Metro's Phase IV.

At a press conference, Kejriwal congratulated the people of Delhi and asserted that the projects were a collaboration between the city and the central governments.

Taking a dig at his critics, Kejriwal said, "These inaugurations are a reply to those who say AAP only engages in fights."  Referring to the challenges faced by his party, he claimed AAP leaders were imprisoned and tortured but maintained their focus on governance. "Over the past 10 years, our tenure has shown how we kept work above everything else," he said.

The former chief minister also hit out at Modi, alleging that the prime minister devoted the majority of his speech to criticising the Delhi government.

Kejriwal said, "Today, the prime minister kept abusing the people of Delhi and the elected government of Delhi. I was listening to it; it felt bad. The promise made by the prime minister in 2020 -- ?the people of Delhi Dehat are still waiting for that to be fulfilled."  The prime minister promised before the 2020 elections that Section 81 and Section 33 of the Delhi Land Reform Act would be repealed, as this can only be done by the central government, he claimed.

The Delhi Assembly had passed a resolution and sent it to the central government years ago, he added.

Kejriwal also urged Modi to fulfil the promises made in the BJP's election manifesto.

The AAP supremo also criticised the delay in notifying the Delhi Master Plan 2041, emphasising its adverse impact on the city's development.

"Delhi's 2041 Master Plan is still awaiting notification, which has completely stalled city's development. Why is the central government not notifying it?" Kejriwal asked.

With elections to the 70-member Delhi Assembly due in February, Kejriwal's remarks underlined AAP's "focus" on development amid its continuing tussle with the Centre.