Urging the people to re-elect him as the chief minister ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Wednesday launched a ‘Jansampark Yatra’, a mass outreach campaign to address questions surrounding his five-month imprisonment.
The yatra, Kejriwal said, has been planned to ensure that Delhi residents understand why he was jailed and the challenges AAP faced during his absence. As part of the campaign that will continue till October 29, AAP workers will visit households across Delhi to distribute a letter from Kejriwal revealing the “truth” behind his and other party leaders’ arrest in the corruption cases.
“I have met a lot of people ever since I came out of jail. I know there are questions in people’s hearts about why I was imprisoned. That is why I have written a letter answering those questions,” Kejriwal said as he addressed party workers gathered at the AAP headquarters during the launch of the ‘Jansampark Yatra’.
The AAP supremo asked the party workers to explain his stance to the residents while delivering his letter. “When you carry my letter to the residents of Delhi, you have to explain that I would not have been jailed, had I not provided them with these facilities in Delhi. If Manish Sisodia had not made world-class schools for their children then they would not have sent him to jail, if Satyender Jain had not provided them with mohalla clinics, good hospitals and free medicines then he would not have been rotting in jail right now,” Kejriwal alleged.
“We all went to jail for you but we don’t regret going to jail; our only concern is continuing all free services without any halt… With your support, I will take over the responsibility of the Chief Minister, and will serve you all like before. We have to ensure that this letter reaches every household in the next 10-15 days,” he said as he urged Delhiites to vote AAP back to power.
In the letter, Kejriwal reiterated that his imprisonment was not due to corruption but was part of a “larger conspiracy” by political opponents to halt the development work being carried out in Delhi.
“Everyone knows that I have not done any corruption. Kejriwal cannot commit corruption,” he said, accusing the BJP-led Central government of being unable to replicate AAP’s governance model in other states, leading to dissatisfaction among voters there. “The public in those states has started asking why the work being done in Delhi isn’t happening in their states. They have no answer,” the letter stated.
The letter also paints a picture of the BJP being fearful of AAP’s growing influence, particularly after the Punjab elections. “After our victory in Punjab, they started feeling that if the work in Delhi is not stopped soon, then their shops will be closed in the entire country,” he said.
The former chief minister alleged the BJP of making repeated attempts to stop Delhi’s progress, first through the Lieutenant Governor and then by putting the AAP leader behind bars. “For two years, the L-G held up the mohalla clinic file. It was only after intense pressure, including a 10-day sit-in protest by me and my cabinet colleagues that we were able to move forward… In jail, they did everything to prevent me from living safely. As a diabetic, I need insulin injections four times a day, but they stopped my medication,” he stated.
He also claimed that the BJP has now come up with a new plan — to get the work accomplished by the AAP in the last 10 decades undone. “If we continue providing you with the facilities like free electricity and water, then residents of the 22 states where they (BJP) are in power, will question them as they are unable to provide these facilities in states like Gujarat. To prevent such questions, their (BJP’s) first step will be to end free electricity. Their agenda is to shut down the very services that you have benefitted from,” Kejriwal stated.
He also warned that the BJP win in Delhi elections would mean the end of free electricity, return of power cuts, and the deterioration of public schools and hospitals.
AAP leaders, including Manish Sisodia, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, ministers Gopal Rai, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Kailash Gahlot, and Imran Hussain, and other party MLAs, were also present at the campaign launch.