New Delhi: Announcing his poll “guarantees”, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal Sunday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to announce his “successor”, reiterating that he would step down from office after turning 75 next year even though BJP leaders may want him to continue if the party returns to power.
His comments came a day after the BJP top brass, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah and party president J.P. Nadda, dismissed Kejriwal’s claim that Modi would hang up his boots, making way for Shah as the next prime minister.
“After my comments yesterday, many BJP leaders said that the 75-year norm is not applicable on Modi. But Modi himself has not said anything. So, I feel that the statements of the BJP leaders represent their emotions since Modi is their party’s biggest leader.
“I feel that the PM will not prevent the 75-year rule from being applicable on himself at any cost. In that case, he can say that the rule was for L.K. Advani. The PM will retire. My only wish is that he should announce his successor or else there will be a tussle within his party,” Kejriwal said at a press conference, where he announced 10 poll guarantees.
“Kejriwal’s guarantees which are a brand in the market” would be fulfilled unlike “Modi’s guarantees”, the Delhi CM said, drawing a contrast between the “unfulfilled” promises made by the PM with his own measures in the areas of education, health and power among others in Delhi and Punjab where the AAP is in power.
These guarantees will be fulfilled by the INDIA bloc, he said, adding that he could not consult the leaders of the alliance before making the announcement. “But I am sure no one will have any issue with these guarantees that promise to improve the lives of people.” Over the next few days, he will hold campaign rallies in Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kejriwal said.
The AAP national convenor, who walked out on interim bail in the excise policy case Friday, also pointed out that while the BJP leadership dismissed his claim on Modi’s retirement, “it has become clear that Yogi Adityanath will be removed as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh in the next two months”.
“After all they (BJP leaders) said that the 75-year rule is not applicable on Modi, but no one said that Yogi will not be removed from the post of CM. So one thing has become clear that he will be removed,” Kejriwal said, once again playing up a perceived internal power struggle within the BJP.
In his first public address after obtaining interim bail from the Supreme Court, Kejriwal had launched a blistering attack on Modi, saying he was on a mission to turn India into a “dictatorship” where only one leader would be in command. The political careers of Opposition faces and senior leaders of the ruling BJP alike were being ended, he alleged.
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Guarantees of AAP
At the press conference, flanked by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and other senior AAP leaders, Kejriwal announced 10 poll “guarantees”, which, he said, embody the “vision of new India”. The guarantees touch the areas of education, health, employment, fight against corruption, agriculture, electricity, business, external affairs, full statehood for Delhi.
He also announced that Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be brought out of the purview of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and that the “BJP’s washing machine will be demolished in the public square”.
“The nation comes first. China has captured our land but the Centre is in denial. Diplomatic efforts will be made and the armed forces will be given the freedom to act to reclaim our land. The Agniveer scheme will be scrapped,” Kejriwal said.
Six of the 10 guarantees were previously announced by Sunita Kejriwal, the Delhi CM’s wife, at the INDIA bloc’s Ramlila Maidan rally on 31 March.
Among the other guarantees made by Kejriwal include uninterrupted power supply and free electricity for the poor, which, he said, will cost Rs 2.25 lakh crore. “Our country has the capacity to produce 3 lakh megawatt power while the peak requirement is 2 lakh megawatt,” he said, claiming that he has calculated the cost of executing all his promises.
He promised to bring education in government schools at par with private schools “like in Delhi and Punjab”. Scaling up the efforts at the national level will cost Rs 5 lakh crore in five years. At Rs 2.5 lakh crore each, it will be borne equally by the Centre and the states, he said, pegging the estimated cost of improving the health sector at Rs 5 lakh crore as well.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: ‘Modi not retiring at 75, will complete 3rd term as PM’ — BJP responds to Kejriwal