Talk to AK: Modi govt has turned Delhi-Centre ties into 'India-Pak' situation, says Kejriwal

In the midst of his bitter fight with the Centre on a range of issues, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday accused the Modi dispensation of turning its ties with Delhi government into an “India-Pakistan” type situation and said absence of obstacles would have helped him achieve four times of what has been done so far in the city. In the first edition of his ‘Talk to AK’ show, seen as an attempt to increase Aam Aadmi Party’s national connect, Kejriwal touched upon a number of contentious issue including appointment of 21 Parliamentary Secretaries, arrest of a top bureaucrat by CBI and transfer of officers even as he taunted the Prime Minister saying, he was the “only corrupt Chief Minister in the country in the eyes of” Narendra Modi. [caption id=“attachment_2898406” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A file photo of Arvind Kejriwal. AFP[/caption] The Delhi Chief Minister, in the nearly two-hour-long programme that began with a monologue followed by a question and answer session, alleged that the Centre was trying to “break” the AAP government and that BJP President Amit Shah was micromanaging CBI, adding, “but every dog has his day and all these will soon come to an end.” He said that the government has saved over Rs 350 crore in building five flyovers across the national capital since the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) took charge in February 2015. “Some flyovers were under construction in Delhi when we took over. We completed those projects before schedule and saved over Rs 350 crore. This was unprecedented. In our country, every government project is delayed by years. But we changed all of it,” said Kejriwal during his inaugural interactive session “ Talk to AK”. He said that the government also slashed tax rates to reduce the burden on businessmen. “We saved hundreds of crores and as a result we slashed the tax rates. Another good thing that happened was that tax collection went up after we reduced the tax rates,” he added. When asked to defend the various charges filed against AAP MLA’s, Kejriwal alleged that the Centre has been hampering the progress of Delhi by turning various institutions like the anti-corruption board against the AAP government. He said, “The centre has done various unconstitutional things to hamper the progress done by Delhi government.”

The fact that filing an FIR is impossible for the common man but the Central Govt rains FIR's on us is evident of vendetta #TalkToAK

— Talk To AK (@TalkToAK_) July 17, 2016

We are not playing the victim card but Delhi is a victim of the narrow politics of the Central Govt. @ArvindKejriwal LIVE #TalkToAK

— Talk To AK (@TalkToAK_) July 17, 2016

More from Politics

Is Shashi Tharoor’s breakup with Congress inevitable? ‘Naxalism will end in India by March 2026’: Amit Shah at CRPF Raising Day parade

He also talked about the lack of investors in Delhi saying, “If Delhi is being governed well and becoming a good place for investors, then I need to let the country and the world know, so people can come here.” The Chief Minister also said that his government is focusing on four sectors — education, health, electricity and water. “We have worked on various things but our main priority is on four sectors — education, health, electricity and water. We believe that spending on health and education is not an expenditure, but an investment,” he said. “When our youth is educated, the government would not have to worry about development, the youth will themselves develop the country. Therefore, we doubled the budget on education by 100 percent and health by 50 per cent,” Kejriwal noted. Kejriwal talked about harnessing power of the youth. He said, “AAP is youth’s party. None of our families were in politics. We mostly have young people. I would invite young people to join politics to improve it. We’ve started an Urban Fellowship programme for this.” You can watch the video here:

Access to quality health services is a fundamental right. - Arvind Kejriwal LIVE #TalkToAK

— Talk To AK (@TalkToAK_) July 17, 2016

हम गरीब से गरीब बच्चो को एक अच्छा भविष्य देना चाहते है - अरविंद केजरीवाल LIVE #TalkToAK

— Talk To AK (@TalkToAK_) July 17, 2016

Taking part in a meeting of the Inter-State Council chaired by Modi, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader also raised the issue of surging pulse prices in the country. “I demanded that loans of all farmers be waived by Centre, give adequate crop prices (to the farmers) by implementing (M.S.) Swaminathan report,” Kejriwal tweeted. “Also, I raised the issue of increasing dal (pulse) prices due to large-scale hoarding by a few traders,” he said. The Chief Minister asked the Centre to give Delhi its due as per the 14th Finance Commission formula, which he said came to Rs 5,000 crore.

I am fighting for the people, not just for myself - Arvind Kejriwal #TalkToAK

— Talk To AK (@TalkToAK_) July 17, 2016

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will contest assembly elections in Gujarat if “people ask for it,” said Kejriwal. “The party does not contest polls. It’s the people of the state who fight it. Even in Delhi, the people spent (their own) money to bring us to power,” he said while responding to a query during his maiden “Talk to AK” interaction with the public. “Similarly, if people of Gujarat want us to contest, we will fight assembly elections in the state,” said Kejriwal, who is also national convenor of the AAP. The party would hold a meeting in Gujarat in the next two or three months to decide its next move in the state, he said. The Kejriwal government in Delhi has been at loggerheads with the central government over various issues of governance. The government has launched a dedicated website, talktoak.com, through which people can directly ask questions to the Chief Minister. A dedicated twitter handle, “@TalkToAK_” has also been created for the programme. This move holds importance as the AAP is gearing up for assembly elections in Goa, Punjab and Gujarat. Kejriwal promised the next Talk to AK after a month or two and has welcomed the suggestions of the citizens for better governance of Delhi.